Transitions
by ThePotterDoctor
Summary: The Doctor and Clara are closer than ever. But, as their relationship deepens, they must both face the fact that they can't run forever. Faced with their own mortality and Clara's humanity, the Doctor and Clara try to make their seemingly impossible relationship work. Despite the odds.
1. Chapter 1: Tom

*** Hey guys, new story. This is another Whouffle, set after Day of the Doctor. Not sure how long it's going to be but I'll try to update frequently and I'm aiming to be done by Christmas. This marks the transition in Clara and the Doctor's relationship from friends to something more. There will be mature content later on but I'm hoping to keep it to a minimum as it feels weird writing it for these characters. Enjoy and please review :) ***

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Chapter 1: Tom

Clara Oswald slumped down onto the sofa in the teacher's lounge, the cup of oolong tea that Tom had made for her (it was his day) waiting for her. The sofa was comfortable and the red to match Clara's dress, so she found herself enveloped in it. She grabbed the newspaper and flicked through it. She didn't generally care what happened in the world, nor did she really want to hear about the latest gossip. But she had realised that newspapers often held stories about or clues from, a friend of hers. Satisfied that nothing had been blown up or that there wasn't a cryptic message hidden among the headlines, she dropped the paper and sighed. Tom was giving her a funny look, so she raised an eyebrow at him. She knew Tom had a massive crush on her, but she was trying hard not to feed it. Her life was way too complicated for her to get into a relationship with anyone. Well, almost anyone…She was smiling now, a subconscious reaction to thinking about him. She hoped Tom didn't misinterpret.

"I didn't realise you used fake tan Clara," Tom said, chuckling nervously. "Doesn't seem very you."

"I don't," Clara replied, confused. Then it twigged. She'd spent a week in Ancient Egypt, then she'd nearly been executed by Alexander The Great, and on top of that, she'd spent a few days on the beach planet of…she couldn't pronounce it. No wonder she looked a bit brown. She'd have to say something to him about that, there must be some sort of space sun cream out there… Not that she could tell Tom any of this, so she put on a warm smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean I don't normally," she clarified. "A friend of mine did it to me for a dare. You know how I can't resist a dare!"

Tom smiled and nodded nervously and she rolled her eyes. Tom was a really nice guy but he was way too uncomfortable around her. The fire in her eyes probably scared the life out of him. She could only imagine how it would go down if she took him to a twenty-fourth century battlefield where she had been named Commander-In-Chief. That had been a day to remember. In any case, the other man in her life would never approve and probably not allow it. She could just imagine the huff he would make.

"Miss Oswald, Mr Jetson," came a voice from the open doorway. "You've got to come quick. There's something in the sky. It looks like a box. A flying blue box. And it's making words!"

Clara dropped her tea. It fell against the floor with a dull thud but luckily the mug didn't break. It wouldn't, it was made of twenty-third century super china. She was going to hit him over the head with it. Clara's face darkened as she leapt to her feet, storming past Amy, the girl who had come to tell them about the box.

"I'm going to kill him!" she muttered, earning her a look of confusion from Tom who was on her heels. She stormed out into the playground, where all the children were staring up at the sky. Sure enough, there was a blue box, flying in the sky; a figure that she could barely make out but knew for a fact would be wearing purple tweed, stood in the doorway, leaving a smoke trail behind him. "I hope he falls out that bloody box, the idiot!" Clara growled.

The words CLARA OSWALD GET YOUR COAT were plastered in smoke in the sky. Tom had gone a rather unattractive shade of purple. Clara was fuming. She couldn't believe that he'd pulled a stunt like this.

"So, is that your boyfriend in a plane?" Tom spluttered helplessly. Clara shot him a fierce look and he backed down. Guilt flooded through her. She patted Tom's shoulder.

"He's not my boyfriend. And he won't be flying that box near here again unless he wants me to hide his sonic screwdriver!" Clara snapped. But the box wasn't dematerialising like she'd hoped it would. Instead, it was hurtling towards the ground, losing altitude rapidly. Heading right for the school. Clara swore under her breath as it came whooshing in and the children dispersed as the TARDIS came to a crunching halt above six feet in front of Clara. The Doctor stepped out, looking smug as anything.

"Clara!" he yelled, pulling her into a hug she didn't return. "Miss me!"

"I saw you yesterday!" she hissed under her breath, punching his shoulder repeatedly. "What the hell are you playing at? This is my school, I work here!"

"Oh don't worry, the chair of governors is an old friend," he grinned. "A very old friend. Like back when I was travelling with Susan old. As in my first face old. Yeah I know right. Have you been using fake tan?"

"No you dolt, you took me to Egypt, then Greece, the bloody beach planet of…"

"Ah Duafuhofihoagao!" The Doctor grinned. "Wonderful place! Sorry, I've been flying a bit too close to Freetree VI, always muddles my memory a bit; it's been a week since I saw you after all. Six days too long if you ask me, but I was distracted by a giant soul-eating alien monster."

"Doctor shut up!" Clara hissed. "What are you doing here, what's so urgent?"

"I have a new bow tie!" he yelled triumphantly. "Didn't you notice?"

Clara had in fact, not noticed. "It's the same colour as your old bow tie!"

"Yes, but I had to throw the old one into a supernova to save the planet, so I had to pop back to 1956 to get a new one. Long story, bumped into myself, almost got a bit hairy, ended up hiding under a cheese grater. Oh you must be Tom; Clara's told me all about you!"

"Has she?" Tom was looking a bit weak now. Clara had never wanted to strangle the Doctor was his own bow tie more than she did in that moment. "She's never mentioned you before. Are you her boyfriend?"

"No, I'm her Doctor," he grinned, as though this was some sort of in joke. Clara crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow as she did so. Despite the fact she was positively mortified, she couldn't help but be a little bit amused. "Don't worry, the boyfriend position is open."

Clara opened her mouth to say something at this point, as the Doctor stepped past her, clasping Tom on the shoulder before heading inside the school. She didn't know what annoyed her more, the fact that Tom was grinning, clearly thinking he had a shot with her, that the TARDIS was currently parked in the middle of the playground, that the Doctor was going to her classroom or that her name was still sprawled across the sky for half of London to see. She sighed. It was just going to be one of those days.

She followed the Time Lord inside the school, ignoring the hushed words and odd looks. She hurried after him, desperate to catch up as he swung into Miss Oswald's classroom, chuckling slightly at the name plaque. He threw himself down at her desk, before turning to look at her, still beaming. Clara followed him into the room, slamming the door behind her.

"What the hell is this?" she demanded. "Can you move the TARDIS please?"

"No not yet, sorry Clara." His face had gone serious very quickly. "I needed to land here and I needed to attract attention. Sorry, all that spiel out there was somewhat a lie. Apart from the bit about the bow tie and the cheese grater. And the memory thing. But yes, needed to see you. Very urgent. Lots of timey-wimey problems."

He pulled out his sonic and scanned the room, glaring furiously at it. He sighed in relief and then plonked himself down back at the desk, putting his feet up but swiftly putting them down again as she shot him a look that indicated she would end his lives unless he put them down again.

"The last time I saw you, we went to that beach planet. Didn't you wonder why there was nobody there except us?"

"No," Clara down on a desk, facing him. "I just assumed that it hadn't been inhabited yet or that you'd done a clever thing so we could have some alone time. You do that sometimes, you know, make it just the two of us." She hadn't realised she was blushing. But she was. Dammit. She hated the effect he had on her. "Why, is it important?"

"Well I was wondering why we were alone there," he paused. "So I went back." He stood up, sonicing the room again and grumbling. "And I found out why. We had gone to the right time zone, I just assumed the TARDIS had messed up. But it turns out, there was a security warning. The planet was under quarantine." Clara's face fell and he ran over to her. He cupped her cheek and pressed her forehead against his. "Clara I am so sorry. But the planet was infected. Hundreds of sentient, invisible creatures. They latch onto humans, like symbiotes. They then decide if a host is suitable. If they are, then they pull them into their dimension. That's how they're invisible, they're not really here. Dimension jumpers. Once I realised, I had the TARDIS fly through a time rift, that would've thrown off any attached to me or inside her, dimension jumpers can't survive travelling through them. But one could've attached itself…"

"To me," Clara finished. She was scared, but she'd never admit it. The Doctor hugged her and smiled warmly. "What's it going to do to me?"

"Nothing," he said and the way he said it, she genuinely believed him. "You wouldn't be a suitable host. You're too short." She glared. "But by landing the TARDIS here, I made my appearance known to it. If it was still attached to you, which it isn't," he confirmed with another zap of the sonic. "Then it would have jumped off you the second it saw me coming. And it would've hid until it could find a suitable replacement."

Clara was both instantly relieved and completely horrified. So somewhere out there, an invisible creature was going to kidnap someone from her school and take them to another dimension. But it wasn't going to take her. Because of him. She pulled him into a fierce hug, burying her head in her shoulder.

"This is all my fault Clara," he said quietly. "I had to make sure you were okay. But the creature's not in here. It may already have found a host. We need to find it, find them. Is there anyone you've been close to, close enough for it to move between people?"

"Nobody, just…" she remembered touching his shoulder. "Tom!" she squealed. "Doctor, Tom. We need to help him. This is all my fault. I mean your fault. I mean our fault!"

She must've looked as panicked as she felt because the Doctor was nodding, strolling out the room. Tom was back in the staffroom and stood up to talk to her when she arrived. There was a low murmur of chatter in the room that seemed to drop off as they entered. Clara groaned. She had been desperately trying to fly under the radar and this wasn't helping matters.

"Hello all!" The Doctor announced himself. "I'm Doctor John Smith; I'm on the school board for the London area." He flicked his psychic paper so everyone could see. "My apologies for the disturbance and for the funny landing. New mobile plane, testing it for the government. I'm also a physicist you see." Clara closed her eyes, silently cursing. "Anyway, I just needed to talk to Miss Oswald about…school things!" he winked at her and she wished she were dead. "Now, you Tom!" he pointed and Tom paled. "We need to talk shop. My office!"

"You…don't have an office," Tom mumbled. Clara hung her head. She knew what he meant.

"He means the TARDIS, that's the name for his mobile plane," she informed him, making a mental note to kill the Doctor at a later stage.

"Yes, let's go. Off you pop, quick as you like." The Doctor was grinning and as soon as they were out in the corridor, he pulled out the sonic and scanned Tom. "Yep, I've got him. Bear with me, just a second."

Clara held her breath and tried not to panic as the Doctor used his sonic on Tom again. He nodded as if satisfied and then gestured for them to hurry. Clara shot him an inquisitive look but he didn't respond. They hurried out into the playground, where all the children were still playing, lots of them shooting the box odd looks and trying to find ways inside. The Doctor shooed them off as he unlocked the TARDIS and ushered them inside. Tom's jaw dropped and Clara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's bigger on the inside."

"Yep, it's all very clever and spacey. We have bigger problems. I managed to use the sonic to trap it temporarily in its home dimension but I have no idea how long it will stay there for!" The Doctor was shouting. Clara skipped up to the main console, dragging Tom along with her by the hand. She didn't notice the Doctor flinch slightly. Tom seemed shocked by the contact so she dropped his hand the second they were stood beside the Doctor.

"So what're you going to do? Fly through the time rift again?" Clara asked hopefully. "That's how you dealt with the others right?"

"Others? Other what's?" Tom asked fearfully.

"Other dimension jumping monsters!" The Doctor interjected. "And I can't, every time I do it damages this old girl and she's still annoyed with me for the last time I did it. Besides, I have a plan. Of sorts. It's an awful plan but you'll have to bear with me. I'm not going to let you down. But those creatures are still all over Duafuhofihoagao and if people turn up, they'll have a food source. It's only so long before you lot get interested and because they're not really here, these things can live for centuries. I need to travel to their dimension and drag all the monsters back there. I just need something to anchor me here and something to drag all the creatures back."

"Can't you just sonic them there like you did with the one on Tom?" Clara interjected as Tom whimpered. The Doctor grinned like a child and then kissed the top of her head.

"You're a genius Clara! Planet wide sonic blast, with the template that I've already installed in the sonic. It would work perfectly. So, I'll land the TARDIS, then sonic the creatures, travel across, trap them all there then return by being very clever."

Clara didn't like the last bit. It was too vague and knowing the Doctor, he was probably hoping for a miracle. She especially didn't like the idea of him going alone. She frowned at him but he was already working.

"Doctor, how're you going to get back?" she asked quietly, leaning against the console next to him. "Because I'm not letting you go unless you tell me how you're going to get back. And I'm definitely not letting you go alone."

"Well you're not coming with me," he stated matter-of-factly. "I need someone here to deliver the sonic pulse to the creatures here and you're my number one girl. As for how I'll get back, I just need an anchor. Something to tie me between the universes, so the TARDIS can pull me back. Here, take the sonic. You'll need it. We've landed so just plug it into the TARDIS mainframe and she can extrapolate the blast. I've set all the right configurations."

"But how do you know the creature will just choose to take you to feed on over Tom?" Clara asked exasperatedly. "Have you considered that?"

He was smiling sadly. He kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug before stepping back. "Because, Clara Oswald. I'm very old and very wise. And the creature was always going to latch onto me. And because, it already has." He stepped back and Clara screamed his name as he vanished into thin air. Tom whimpered.


	2. Chapter 2: Dimension Jumping

*** Hey guys, here's chapter 2, sorry about the wait. This will be a continuing story, even though at times it'll feel as though it could end here or be a series of One-Shots. Enjoy and please review***

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The Doctor landed with a roll, throwing the creature off of him. When fixed in their dimension, the creatures weren't invisible and had corporeal form. They were almost like humans only they were completely jet black and scaly, with clawed hands and teeth that dripped blood. The Doctor gulped as the monster growled at him. They were in some sort of small room, almost like a dungeon and they were alone. The walls were an odd substance that looked like stone except it glowed, humming amber. There was no door that the Doctor could see.

"This is your only warning," he stated. "You stay here; you find something else to feed on. Humanity will not become your feasting ground. The technology you're using to jump across dimensions is cheating; you have plenty of food sources here."

"Our food is running out," the creature snarled. The Doctor stepped back, surprised. He didn't realise they could speak. "The Traunt must move, must find their food elsewhere or we shall die out. Do you wish us to die out Doctor?"

"If it's your time, it's your time," he announced. "You can live off plants, or non-sentient animals, but your parasitic and torturous means towards humanity has to stop."

"I am curious," the Traunt hissed. "Why did you lie to the girl? Clara was it? And I am also curious, as to how you plan on stopping us. You can trap us in this dimension momentarily but for us, it will be but a moment, even if it is slightly longer in your dimension. And that is even assuming you manage to make it out of this room. For I shall feast, Time Lord. Feast on you."

"Why I lied to Clara isn't important," the Doctor retorted, straightening his bow tie, as the creature lumbered towards him, biding its time. "What is important, is your walls. They're very interesting indeed." He ran over to one, the creature watching him curiously. "They're made from some sort of metallic compound, very susceptible to temperature. You heat them, so they glow this amber colour. The heat is what holds them together, the amber is just the colour of the reaction. So if you cool them down, they change colour. But they also, fall down. Of course, that's not a problem for you lot, you're very warm-blooded creatures, you couldn't cool it down if you tried. But what if I were to, oh I don't know. Do this?"

The creature lurched for the Doctor, as he pulled an ice pack out of one of his pockets and thrust it against the wall. He rolled to one side as the wall began to disintegrate, one section of it collapsing on top of the creature. It yelped in pain and then lay still, unconscious. The Doctor stepped over it, out the hole he had produced. It was a clever system. That was obviously one of the many kill rooms that they had set up. Once the Traunt arrived back with their prey, they'd reappear in one of these unescapable rooms. They'd feast and then be released, by a door that was only obvious or even operable from the outside. The Doctor spotted the door and nodded his appreciation for the Traunt's handiwork. He was in what appeared to be a very long corridor, with potentially hundreds of the chambers lined up.

There were staircases embedded in the walls which this time were a dull green colour and the Doctor scuttled up one of them. As he climbed, all he could think about was Clara. Why had he lied to her? Well he knew the obvious reason, but there was another, more deeply selfish reason. He wanted her. He wouldn't admit it to her, he was struggling to admit to himself, but when he'd told Tom that the boyfriend position was open, he'd immediately regretted it, cursing himself inwardly. Even if it was the truth, which he hoped it wasn't, he certainly didn't want sweet, delicate Tom knowing. He could give Clara everything the Doctor couldn't. A safe live, a calm life, a life away from the TARDIS. And she'd already gotten a job, what if she decided to stay with Tom and make babies and do human things? The Doctor shook himself. He shouldn't be thinking about his impossible girl right now. He needed to look for the control room.

At the top of the staircase, the Doctor looked around, desperately trying to get his bearings. He was in another long corridor. There was a small, almost box like room ahead of him, with two Traunt inside, hissing away to each other. The Doctor cursed. It looked like the control rooms were localised, covering small areas rather than large ones. Unless, this only controlled the landing and not the take-off. He tried to get closer, thinking of ways to distract the guards. Fortunately, he didn't have to, as one of them stepped out. The Doctor hid in a small alcove and watched it squirm past. He examined it, desperate to find a weakness he could use. The legs, he realised. They looked very brittle. That's why the creatures moved from back to back in the other dimension, their legs could barely their weight. They could walk, they could run, they could jump like humans could, but he reckoned that their legs would also plummet faster than a normal humans. Their arms were like pistons however, so he'd have to creep up on them…

He snuck up on the guard in the box, desperate not to reveal his location. Then, just as he was getting close, he knocked a small object that he realised might be a scribe of some sort off of the desk and the creature whirled round. The Doctor grinned.

"Hello," he introduced himself. "I'm the Doctor and I was just wondering, is this room purely controlling the landing platforms, or does it also deal with how the Traunt get to other dimensions?"

The guard roared and hammered a button, sending alarms rocketing off down the corridor, probably filling the whole building, however big that was. The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. Well it had been worth a shot. He bolted.

* * *

Clara was worried. The Doctor hadn't told her when to use the sonic to send back the creatures and she didn't want to wait longer than she should, but equally it would do no good if the creatures were back in their dimension before the Doctor could trap them in theirs. And she wouldn't know that they'd returned either, on account of how they were well, invisible. Instead, she turned her efforts to comforting Tom, who still looked positively petrified.

"Tom," she coaxed carefully. "You're okay, you're safe in here, I promise. The Doctor will be back soon and then we can go home. Nothing's going to hurt you here."

"Where am I Clara?" he said, almost sobbing. "What is this place? Who are you?"

"I'm just Clara," she smiled warmly at him, hoping he'd believe her. "I'm that same girl that you met when I joined the school. I just, have a very special friend. He's called the Doctor. And yes, he's not from Earth. This is his spaceship."

"What, so you just get in this box and fly away with him?" Tom quizzed. "Isn't that dangerous? I mean, you said there was a creature going to eat me."

"Very," Clara replied, feeling honest. "But the Doctor never lets anything happen to me and he didn't to you. That's what he does, the Doctor. He protects people from the monsters under the bed or lurking in the shadows. And I help him. Because he needs help." She was smiling now, thinking about him always made her smile. "He needs me."

"And you need him," Tom added unhelpfully. Clara raised an eyebrow. "That's where your tan came from, that's why you never do anything with the other teachers outside of school. That's why you can't tell us anything about what you do. Because you're here. Every night, travelling the stars with a madman in a box."

"Not every night!" Clara protested. "But any night. My Doctor. And he'll come back, drop you home in time for tea and then you can forget this whole ordeal ever happened. You'll be right as rain Tom, the Doctor can promise you that."

"And what about you?" it was a genuine question but there was a hint of an accusation behind it.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Clara informed him, turning away so he couldn't see her face.

"But where will you be? Are you just going to travel with him when I'm gone? Visit all these crazy places? Who's to say you'll even come back Clara? The people you care about, they'll be expecting you one day but one day you'll just not come back."

"The Doctor says I'll come back!" Clara said sharply, silencing Tom. "And that's good enough for me. You talk about the people I care about Tom, but I care about the Doctor. And I have to spend every day worrying if he'll come back. He needs me. Without me, it's a little bit more certain that he won't come back tomorrow."

"You love him."

It wasn't a question, but Clara treated it as one anyway. She opened her mouth to retort that of course she didn't love the Doctor, Tom was being stupid. Not in that way any way. He was her Doctor, but she only loved him as friend. But she couldn't bring herself to say the words, knowing that they were a complete and utter lie. Luckily, before she was forced to either lie or admit to it, the scanner flared up and a message from the Doctor appeared on it.

"It's the Doctor," Clara grinned, thankful he was still alive. "He's saying to send all the creatures back."

* * *

The Doctor was pelting down the corridors, thankful that the brittle legs of the Traunt couldn't keep up with him. He slipped into another alcove as two of the guards looking for him ran past, going the other way. They were coming from somewhere, the Doctor knew that much. The more he encountered the more certain he was that he was heading the right way. The Doctor slipped back out of the alcove and, ensuring no more Traunt were nearby, he slipped up the staircase at the end of the corridor, hopeful that he was finally getting close to his destination. Sure enough, there was a room with red walls, full of Traunt panicking and what appeared to be teleports. The Doctor pulled out his psychic paper and sent a message that he hoped would reach Clara, telling her to send through the creatures. Being this close to the Dimensional teleports, he hoped that would work. He then straightened his bow tie and strolled into the command centre. The creatures all stopped and turned to look at him, snarling viciously. One of them leapt at him, but he stepped aside and flicked at its legs with his foot, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Stay back!" he yelled, whipping out a remote control for an RC car. "This device is hardwired into your system. If I flick this one switch, your entire system explodes, killing all of us and leaving your friends trapped in limbo. So stand back."

"What is it you want?" the lead Traunt snarled. "How did you get here?"

"Piggybacked a ride off of one of your goons," the Doctor informed them. "He intended to feast on me; I intended to stop him feasting on a friend of mine. So, here we are, at a stalemate. So I'm going to give you a chance. Recall your friends, let nobody use this equipment ever again and I'll let you live. Just send me through the portal and this ends."

There were a few chuckles of reptilian laughter. The leader stepped forward, licking his lips and spitting blood. The Doctor tried not to look too disgusted. He just had to buy enough time until Clara did her bit.

"Hand over the remote and we'll let you live. But you cannot go back through. The power levels required to send us through are only enough to hold us in purgatory between the two states, until we can collect our victims. To send someone through permanently, would require all our power. It would overload the system, completely shut us down. It would probably explode, killing all of us."

That was what the Doctor was counting on. "Last chance!" he bellowed.

Their stand-off was interrupted as the consoles began flaring into life. The Traunt turned to them, desperately flipping switches and buttons.

"What's happening?" The leader bellowed.

"Sir, all of the Traunt are returning at once!" yelled one of his technicians. "The system is going haywire. It can't cope. Sir, it may overload."

The Doctor took his chance, pushing through the crowds, flipping a handful of switches almost unnoticed. By the time anyone had clocked what he was doing it was too late. He dived into the teleport, which was powering up to take him back to the TARDIS.

"Geronimo!" he yelled as a creature dived for him and he dematerialised.

* * *

Clara was getting nervous. It had been a few minutes now since she'd sent the creatures across to join the Doctor, but there was no sign of him. She pounded the console in frustration and the TARDIS wheezed at her. She muttered an apology and stroked the old girl to try and soothe her nerves but she leapt to her feet nevertheless, pacing endlessly. Tom was sat down, watching her curiously. He shot her a sympathetic look but Clara wasn't in the mood for sympathy. The Doctor was going to come home, she was sure of it. He would never let her down. He never had and he never would. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and furiously ignored it. She wasn't going to cry. He was going to come back.

"Clara!" Tom yelled and she turned, as a certain Time Lord materialised in front of her, grinning triumphantly.

"Aha miss me Clara Oswald?" he asked, as she pulled him into a furious hug, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'll take that as a yes. Well mission accomplished, planet saved, may or may not have killed all the Traunt, that's the name of them, the Traunt…hey!"

He stopped as Clara had broken the hug and was furiously punching his chest.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" she yelled, punctuating each word with a blow, before stepping back and composing herself. "Nice work Doctor."

"And you Clara," the Doctor was smiling. "Shall we take your little friend home then? There's a red galaxy and a green galaxy colliding right now to form the most beautiful…"

"Brown galaxy?" Clara added helpfully, earning an exasperated look from the Doctor. "I'm joking, it sounds amazing. We'll just drop you home Tom, unless you want to see it too?" she quizzed, faltering slightly. "If that's okay with you Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged as if to agree but Tom shook his head, standing and stumbling towards the door. He muttered an excuse and didn't say a single word to Clara for the return trip. The TARDIS materialised outside his home and the Doctor and Clara stepped out to say goodbye.

"Listen Tom, don't worry about any of this. I've already spoken to the governors and the head, they think you missed this afternoon for a routine inspection thing," the Doctor informed him. "Take this pill; it'll help you to sleep. You've had a long day."

Tom muttered his thanks and nodded at Clara before running inside his house. Clara felt wretched. Tom was a good guy and he'd been kind to her and in return she'd got him infected, kidnapped him, told him she was travelling in time and space with an alien and generally freaked him out. And now he'd spent the rest of their friendship, if he even spoke to her at all anymore, worrying about whether or not she'd turn up to work the next day. She glanced at the Doctor, who seemed to be in a world of his own and slumped down against the sofa in the TARDIS, deep in thought. Before she knew what was happening, they'd landed and there was an arm around her shoulder.

"What's wrong Clara?" he asked her quietly, his soft voice making her feel safe as she rested her head against him.

"Tom," she whispered. "I feel as though I ruined his life, threw away a good friend and all I could think about was how you were, not about him. He's never going to be the same again."

"Clara," the Doctor seemed deep in thought. "I am so sorry, this is my fault. All of it. I took you there, I got you infected. It's my fault this mess happened. But if it makes you feel better, Tom won't remember it. That sleeping pill I gave him will make him forget this whole thing occurred."

She sat up, looking at him with a mixture of horror, pride and relief. He smiled awkwardly and she hugged him graciously. She felt better knowing that Tom wouldn't forget the horror he went through and stood up with a smile, ready to go and see whatever galaxy the red and green collision would form. She offered her hand to the Doctor but he was still sat, thinking.

"What's wrong?" she asked him curiously. "Chin-boy?"

"I lied to you." The Doctor had stood up and she took an apprehensive step away from him. "I lied to you Clara. Because, I was being selfish."

"Lied about what?"

"About Tom. He was never infected."

"What?" Clara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Did this mean…? "You mean you were infected the whole time? Or…wait I was infected the whole time?"

"Yes, you were the one infected, not Tom. I told you that you weren't so that you wouldn't panic. I thought Tom wouldn't understand as well as you and I could make him forget it, so I told you he was infected instead of you. I couldn't bear to see the look on your face when you thought you might be the one to get dragged into that dimension. Clara, I'm sorry…"

"Sorry?" Clara yelled. "You dragged my innocent friend into the TARDIS and tricked him into thinking he might die! You may have made him forget it but that's not good enough! What if he remembers? And even if he doesn't, I have to live with the knowledge that you did that to him. What, do you think I can't handle this Doctor? I've seen a lot you know, I could handle it. I can always handle it. This isn't supposed to be the way that we treat each other…"

"There's another reason Clara," the Doctor added, somewhat meekly. "Tom. You've talked about him quite a bit."

"Yes, and?" Clara snapped impatiently. She couldn't wait to hear the Time Lord's next revelation.

"And when I told Tom that the boyfriend position was open, I realised what that meant. You…you don't have a life here with me. You have a life out there with Tom and your dad and the humans. What if you decide you want a boyfriend? What if you decided you liked Tom? I thought if I brought Tom along, scared him, I could show you that he was no good for you, that he wouldn't be able to fit into your life in the TARDIS. And then, maybe you'd consider someone else for the boyfriend position. Well, at least, maybe you'd close it. To, well humans."

"Doctor," Clara asked in a very dangerous voice. She edged closer to him and he backed off slightly. She continued to step forward and he was almost pinned against the wall. "Are you telling me that you're jealous of Tom? So you made me think he was infected so that you could scare me off him?"

"Well, perhaps, a little bit, that might be what I'm saying," the Doctor was looking at his feet. "I just want you to be happy here. In the TARDIS. I want to see you every day. I want you to stay here with me and I don't want you to get a human boyfriend. You're my impossible girl."

"Doctor," Clara replied in a tender voice. "You're my Doctor. Got that? And you're always going to be my priority." And she kissed him. It was a soft kiss, but it was on his lips and he seemed to panic, flailing his arms around for a moment before settling them on her shoulders and replying. They kissed deeply and then she let go, stepping back and laughing slightly at his frazzled reaction.

"Clara!" he tried to scold but couldn't help but grin.

"Chin-boy?" she winked. "I believe you had a brown galaxy to show me."

"It's…it's not brown!" The Doctor yelled, following her over to the TARDIS doors. "Oh who am I kidding, yes it is."


	3. Chapter 3: Time is Relative

*** Here's Chapter 3. I'm about half a dozen chapters ahead so if I slow up, there'll still be a fairly regular stream of chapters. At this stage, I have no idea how long this is going to be but 15/20 seems like a good guess. I also have no idea where I'm going with this, I'm tending to throw ideas at the page when I think of them, though I know roughly where Chapters 9-11 are going, and I've written the first 8. Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed, followed, read and favourited, it means the world to me. Also, I may have cried a little bit whilst writing this chapter, in which Clara is upset so the Doctor shows her to her favourite place in the universe...***

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Clara sat on the edge of the universe and she was the happiest girl in it. At least that's what it felt like. She sat on the ledge outside the TARDIS doors, drinking a cup of vanilla tea with cinnamon pieces that the Doctor had brought back from British colonial India (the finest tea in the universe he claimed). Clara had felt a bit bad about where it came from but the Doctor insisted he went a long way towards ending the colonisation while he was there. That had made her feel better. He had his arm slung casually around her shoulder and rested her head on his arm, sipping her tea as he explained to her what all the different colliding parts of the galaxies were doing. He simplified it, so she understood most of what he was saying, but it was still more about his soothing voice than anything else for Clara. That said, the story behind the swirling mixes of red and green was truly fascinating, as billions of new life forms came into existence and passed away in instances. The Doctor said he had slowed it down for them, so they could watch in slow motion and fully capture the extraordinary colours and lives that were going on. Entire species were living out their lifespans at the centre of the swirling collisions of stars, planets and other interstellar phenomenon. Clara was amazed by it all, but she couldn't help but feel weird about the fact that they were watching lifecycles pass by in what appeared to be seconds for them but was significantly longer for the creatures living them.

"Time is relative," The Doctor answered with a shrug. "We're just moving faster than them. Everything is slowed down for us."

"I know you're a Time Lord and you're used to this," Clara whispered. "But doesn't it bother you? That could be Earth in there. My family, my friends, my whole world, could've been in there, I could've been born and died a million times over and we're just watching the pretty colours."

The Doctor seemed to be pondering something. He smiled for a moment and then stood up. Clara went to stand up too but he ushered her back to her seat, kissing the top of her head as he did so. She flushed and sipped her tea.

"Stay there," he instructed her, as he bounded over to the console. "Keep drinking your tea. And close your eyes. No peeking Soufflé Girl."

"Aye aye Captain," Clara grinned and saluted, closing her eyes and sipping her tea. The TARDIS wasn't making any noise beyond its usual standard whining that it made while they were hovering but she assumed he was taking her somewhere. Maybe he was fetching some other surprise from the depths of his TARDIS. "Doctor, can I open them yet?"

"One more minute," he called, an amused flicker in his voice that made Clara smile and yet she was frustrated. She was one of the most impatient people alive, but she could stomach being patient to annoy the even more impatient Time Lord. Having the shoe on the other foot and he being the one taking his time was annoying to say the least. "And, open."

Clara opened her eyes. She was staring down at a frozen planet, glaciers of ice spiralling high above everything, almost reaching the TARDIS, with great cliffs and valleys of ice. It was one of the most incredible things Clara had ever seen. She giggled and grinned at the Doctor who came to sit beside her. She looked at him, her excitement evident on her face.

"Where are we?" she asked, her voice almost breathless.

"Down there, is Pligh. It's the seventh planet in the Tundra system, which is one of the many systems housed in the red galaxy we were just looking at. It's right at the heart of the system, it's about to collide with the green galaxy and this entire system will be wiped out. But that won't happen for about another 1200 years local time. You want to see the people at the heart of the cataclysm, so here we are. We can go down there if you want?"

Clara nodded, grinning. She looked at the flimsy dress/jacket combo she was wearing and stood up, looking around frantically.

"Where did she move the wardrobe too this time? I'll need to wrap up warmly if we're going down there!" Clara asked, but was confused as the Doctor chuckled and shook his head, before shoving Clara out the TARDIS door.

Clara screamed as she fell, the wind whipping through her hair. She swirled around and forced herself into a diver style position. She'd never felt so alive, never felt more terrified. If this was how she died, then she could die with adrenaline pumping through her veins. Her screams turned into whoops of joy and delight, turned delirious by the fall. The Doctor had thrown her out, she thought. He must've had a reason. She wasn't going to die. Sure enough, a hole in the ground was directly beneath her and as she plummeted into it, she felt herself slowing gradually to the point where as she was about to hit the floor, she reached a complete stop. Sure enough, as she landed on the ice, the TARDIS was waiting for her, its occupant leaning against it with a smug grin on his face. Clara glared at him playfully and as he approached punched him in the arm as hard as she could, which only seemed to make him more amused.

"Never do that ever again!" Clara yelled. "I thought I was going to die!"

"Didn't I mention that Pligh was the greatest skydiving planet in history?" The Doctor asked curiously. "Huh, must've slipped my mind!" She punched him again. "The vents in the holes make the air gradually denser, until it forms the ice that makes up the floor. Aren't you going to ask why we aren't freezing?"

"Because it's not really ice right?" Clara asked, wiping the smug look off the Doctor's face as he grumbled. "What is it then?"

"It's tightly packed silicon crystals, melted together by thousands of years' worth of heat and pressure. Looks like an ice planet, isn't an ice planet. Now, where do you want to go first?" The Doctor grinned, gesturing around.

"Where is there to go?" Clara asked. She looked around but the room itself wasn't very big, with a hollowed out cavern on one side forming the exit. "And where is everyone?"

"The people will be up on the surface or in their buildings, all formed of the same silicon naturally," The Doctor informed her. "I can show you the city if you'd like?"

"Duh," Clara grinned and ran over to the TARDIS, beckoning him to follow her. He rolled his eyes and followed her inside and a few minutes later, they were rematerializing in the middle of a city, formed entirely of the sculpted ice-like structures the Doctor had told her about. It was beautiful, Clara thought and when the sun shone on the buildings, they dazzled, almost blinding her. The Doctor handed her a pair of sunglasses and Clara's smile only grew. As the Doctor pointed out various buildings and their functions, his hand slipped into hers and she found herself more at home on this strange alien world than she had since her mum had died. Because she was with him. And he knew everything about how to make her smile and laugh and feel warm inside without even trying. The people of Pligh were very pale, with varying shades from sandy yellow to pale icy blue. The Doctor said that where they lived on the planet would determine their shades, as there were many different layers and types of blended silicon, which all the creatures fed off and what type they ate determined their colour. Otherwise, they were fairly humanoid except they had no noses, only slits for eyes and circular, visceral mouths. They looked frightening but according to the Doctor, they were as harmless as humans. That was supposed to be comforting, but to Clara, it seemed the opposite.

"And that building there, houses the ruling families. Would you like to meet them?" The Doctor asked and Clara shot him a look. "What?"

"I'm honestly not even surprised by you anymore," she sighed exasperatedly. "Let's go and meet the royalty."

The Doctor guided her through the crowds and aimed for the building. He was grinning but Clara had let go of his hand and fallen back. He turned to see her horrified face.

"Clara?" he called but she could barely hear him. She was lost in the haze that was in front of her. She was struggling to breathe and managed to pull herself together. The Doctor reached her and turned, frowning. His eyes opened wide and he pulled her aside. "Clara listen to me, I didn't mean to show you this Clara…"

But she was transfixed. It was him, her Doctor. Leaned up against a wall, snogging River Song with a ferocity she'd never seen before. She'd known that River was his ex, but she'd always assumed that River was long gone, from a different Doctor, a different face. She'd always treated River the same way she'd treated the Doctor ending the Time War, a different face, and a different man. She wasn't sure which it hurt more to see. The Doctor's arm was on her shoulder, guiding her away from the sight in front of her. Once they were around the corner, she rounded on him.

"Why did you bring me here?" she demanded. "Is this what you do, bring all the girls you have a crush on to the same spot and watch them all fight over you?"

"Clara," he interrupted. "I wanted to bring you here to show you the beauty of life and how I helped the people here. But I got my timings a bit mixed up. I'm still here, I'm still helping them. I know that for you, it seems like I'm just revisiting past glories or rubbing it in your face but for me…" he took his time. "You know how old I am, you know how long I've been travelling. I may have the same face, but that was 200 years ago for me. I left River in that library a long time ago, because seeing her hurt too much. It reminded me too much of Amy and Rory. I left everything and everyone. But you saved me Clara. You brought me back from that. And I wanted to show you all the wonders of the universe. The thing about seeing everything Clara. It's all very well and good having the whole of time and space to explore. But everyone has favourites. And I'm the same. Yes I'll take you to places I've been before with people I cared about long ago. But what's the point in seeing everything if you don't get to share the places you love most with the people that you…travel with…" he finished lamely, obviously trying to avoid ending that sentence the way he wanted to.

Clara beamed despite herself and threw herself into his arms, holding him softly and burying her head into his chest. He patted the top of her head and they separated. She smiled up at him and he smiled down at her in return.

"Sorry," she murmured. "I mean, that was a wonderful speech and all. Top notch. I totally didn't mean to get all emotional and that. It's like. You know when you go round to your boyfriend's house and he still has a picture of his ex on the mantelpiece?"

"No," the Doctor replied.

"Well that's what it's like. I know it feels to you like a lifetime ago to you, but to me it feels like I'm just another cog in your wheel, another small moment in your story. And in a few months, even years' time, maybe when you've changed your face once or twice, what will I be?" Clara was breathless. "I'll just be like River. An ex. A memory. And you won't be my Doctor anymore. You'll be someone else's Doctor. And I won't be your impossible girl. Someone else will be."

"Clara," he took his time over his reply, biting his lip nervously. "You may think that you're just a fleeting glimpse to me, but what we have right now is real. I don't know if you and I will be together until you die, or until I die or if something will get in the way. I'm over 1000 years old, but that doesn't mean I'll live for another thousand. I might have 50 more girlfriends in my life, you might be the last. But what I do know is that I don't know. And I never forget a face. You, River, Amy and Rory, Donna, Martha, Jack, Mickey, Rose, Adam, Grace, Sarah-Jane, Ace, Tegan, Susan, Adric, Jamie, Victoria, Liz and so many more. They all have a special place in my hearts. And you, Clara Oswald. You will always have a place there too. And where we are in 50 years or 500 years or 5000 years, doesn't change and impact on where we are now. Time, Clara, is relative. And if you let the bigger picture spoil the moment, then your whole life will be nothing but a painting unfinished, a broad canvas with no detail, no joy. And I just referred to you as my girlfriend didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did Chin-Boy," Clara chuckled, tears forming in her eyes. "That was a beautiful speech you know."

"Of course I know. You'd think after 1200 years I'd be able to work a crowd," he said smugly and she kissed him lightly. "Now, the brown galaxy awaits us. A thousand stars, all shining for you Clara. Let's try and see as many as we can, before they fade. Or before I turn up and ruin everything."

"River just slapped you," Clara pointed, and the Doctor winced as if feeling it himself. "Why did she do that? Or can you not remember?"

"Of course I remember," the Doctor smiled. "I just suggested we build a giant ice statue of her parents for the locals to worship. I think she thought I was making light of the local customs."

"And were you?"

"A little bit yeah, but I also wanted to see the look on Amy's face when I told her she was being worshipped by someone other than Rory…" The Doctor faded off and smiled sadly at Clara, who could see he was getting nostalgic. "Still, long time ago now. Nothing to be done about it."

"Do you miss them? Amy and Rory I mean?" Clara asked suddenly, her voice quiet but the Doctor looked at her and smiled.

"Not when I'm with you," he replied. "When I'm with you Clara Oswald, all I can think about is what to show you next. Where I'm going to take you next. How best to make that adorable little smile you do keep going until the end of time. And as much as sometimes I want to go back and I want to see them again, just once, I know I never can."

"Why?" It was a simple question, voicing the very thought that must've run through the Doctor's head a million times as he had clearly debated it himself. "Why not? I know they're stuck in New York and the paradoxes and blah blah but why can't you go back to before New York? Before you had to leave them? Just once, just to say you love them both and just to see them? You have the whole of time and space at your disposal. Like you said, time is relative."

"Because," he sighed. "I can't trust myself. Foreknowledge is dangerous. I could cross my own timeline, but if I made a mistake, if I let slip anything about their future or about my future, it could rip the entire universe apart Clara. It's not worth it, just to satisfy my own selfish needs."

"I trust you," Clara whispered. "Completely. My Doctor. What's the point of having a time machine if you can't say goodbye to the people that you love?"

Tears were running down her cheeks now and the Doctor smiled despite himself.

"Yes, I suppose you're right."

Clara knew she'd gotten somewhere and he ushered her back to the TARDIS. As they hopped in, the Doctor was still grinning like a child at Christmas. Clara giggled as they landed and he ran over to the doors, inviting Clara out.

"I can't believe it," she chuckled. "I'm finally going to meet…"

She stopped dead as she got outside the doors and her jaw dropped. The tears started to fall now, huge droplets and she turned and ran back inside the TARDIS as quickly as she could, throwing herself into the Doctor's arms.

"I said I didn't trust myself," the Doctor said evenly. "I didn't say I don't trust you. You can do this Clara, look at me. I believe in you."

"How?" she sobbed. "How can I do this? How can I go out there, knowing who she is, what she is?"

"Clara," the Doctor said quietly. "You don't have to do this. But you're strong. The strongest. My Clara. I might not be able to say goodbye. But you can. For the both of us. And I know that you can do a better job that I ever could."

"I love you, you know that?" Clara said. "My Doctor. I love you. Can you come with me?"

"Of course I will Clara. My Clara. I've always been here. Beside you. And I love you too."

Clara took a deep breath and stepped out the TARDIS. She could see herself, aged two, playing just across the park. The Doctor had parked the TARDIS just behind a huge tree and put the engines on silent so hopefully nobody would notice their arrival.

"Mum," Clara whispered. The Doctor put an arm on her shoulder. "What do I say, what do I do?"

The Doctor didn't answer and at that point, the younger Clara fell off the swings and Ellie Oswald ran over, brushing Clara as she did so. Clara gasped and almost fell to one knee, the Doctor steadying her. Once she'd ascertained her daughter was alright, Ellie returned to Clara, unaware that she was in fact also her same daughter and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about that, you know how it is when you think your child's in danger," she said. Then she noticed Clara was crying. "Oh my stars are you alright?"

"Yeah," Clara sobbed. "I'm fine. It's just. My mum was exactly the same. When I was growing up, she was my hero, she was always there when I needed her, whether I realised I did or not. And then she…"

"She died," mouthed the Doctor, pointed at Clara and making a noose with his hands. Ellie shot him a shocked look and turned to Clara.

"It's alright love, come here," Ellie embraced her daughter, pulling her into a hug as Clara sobbed her eyes out. "I'm sure she's looking down on you now, still watching over you. And I don't know you, but I'm sure she'd be touched by how much she meant to you and I'm sure she'd be proud."

Clara was crying harder now and whispered "mum" again. Here, in her mother's arms one last time, she was both inconsolably sad and yet she was more grateful to the Doctor than for anything else. He had never given her a better gift; he had never taken her to a better place than to her mother's arms. Just once more. She looked up and smiled wearily, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she laughed through the tears. "You're a total stranger and I'm crying on you. You must think I'm so silly."

"No dear," Ellie said. "I think you loved your mum very much."

"I still do," Clara said quietly. "I still do."

* * *

Back inside the TARDIS, the Doctor gave her space as she tried to collect her thoughts. Clara was silent for a while, as the Doctor hummed quietly, glancing at her occasionally to make sure she was okay and flipping dials and levers on the TARDIS console. Clara thought about him. Everything they'd seen, everything they'd done. Then she had an idea.

"Doctor," she said eventually. "I want to take you somewhere."

"Okay," he said, looking confused for a moment but going along with it. "Where?"

"My apartment," she smiled. He looked completely flummoxed and desperately flailed his hands, slicking back his hair, straightening his bow tie and all the while trying to hide behind the TARDIS main console, hoping she wouldn't see him and failing miserably. "Wow, down boy," Clara chuckled. "I just mean, the brown galaxy was nice and all, but it's time I took you to one of my favourite places. I want to get changed first and we can walk from there. You might want to change; it's going to be a nice place."

The Doctor nodded and frantically worked the console, landing the TARDIS in Clara's main living room. She stepped out and chuckled despite herself. He was about to vanish into the depths of the TARDIS when she called him back.

"And Doctor?" she called. He looked back and she smiled, tears still glinting in her eyes. "Thank you. So much. You have no idea how much this means to me."


	4. Chapter 4: Clara's Favourite Place

*** Hey guys. I knocked off a couple of chapters last night so here is Chapter 4 nice and early because I love my readers. As ever thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, follows and favourites, all the comments mean a lot to me but it's also nice to know people are interested in the story. This is quite a fluffy chapter, in which Clara takes the Doctor to her favourite place in the universe. Enjoy :) ***

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The Doctor straightened his bow tie once more. He was nervous. Very nervous. Clara was taking him on a tour of some of her favourite places in London. He knew he had to take her home to Blackpool sooner or later, he was sure she'd have many favourite memories from there to show him. But for now, he supposed London would have to do. He was nervous. Of course he was nervous. Showing Clara the whole of time and space was easy. Fitting into her world, was somewhat harder. Without being able to show off, how could he impress her? He told himself to breathe. Clara was sharing, that was a good thing. A very good thing. She loved him, she'd said so. So why did he have this pit in the bottom of his stomach? Emotions, he thought, were best left to the humans. He checked his reflection for the umpteenth time then decided to move the TARDIS so it wasn't in Clara's way.

"I'm just taking her somewhere out of your hair," he yelled, the TARDIS magnifying his voice so she could hear him and she wouldn't think he was abandoning her. "And breathe Doctor," he told himself. "It's just Clara. Your Clara. You can do this."

He stepped out the front doors. He'd left the temporal engines off, so there was no way in hell he could've made any sort of time jump. He was sure of it. He passed a rose bush on the way and plucked a gorgeous red rose from it, to give to Clara. It would occur to him, much later on; that he hadn't even thought for a moment about the girl associated with the flower, so transfixed was he on the girl waiting for him inside the house. He knocked on the door and took one more deep breath. Clara.

She opened the door. The Doctor's eyes almost popped out of his head. Clara looked absolutely stunning. She was wearing a long, velvet dress of the bluest blue. She normally stuck with red, but tonight she was playing to his strengths. Her hair was lightly curled and shone, her eyes twinkled and her skin was still lightly tanned from their trips to various sunny places. But what caught the Doctor was her smile. She had a light, addictive smile playing on her lips, her red lipstick only bringing out the joy associated with a Clara Oswald smile. The Doctor stepped forward and showed her the rose, placing it in her hair delicately. He was wearing a black jacket and bow tie to match and he was feeling about as fancy as he could feel. She giggled, stepping out of the house and onto the pavement below. It was late autumn and there was a light breeze toying with her hair, but it wasn't cold.

"Thank you Chin-boy," she teased as she shut the door behind her and he took her arm. "The rose is lovely."

"I picked it myself," he said proudly.

"I can see," Clara smirked. "You made a right mess of that bush, Mrs Alberry will not be pleased in the slightest, even if I tell her you did it all in the name of romance."

"I'm 1200 years old Clara," the Doctor informed her proudly. "I know a thing or two about romance." Clara just snorted with laughter at that.

They walked, arm in arm, for nearly half an hour. Normally, the Doctor would have been impatient, but walking with Clara felt very different to normal walking. For once in his lives, there didn't need to be a destination. It felt good to be walking, without having to be walking somewhere. She giggled every now and then, mainly at him, rather than with him but he took that as a sign that she found him charming rather than that he was constantly tripping over his own feet. Maybe she found it charming that he tripped over his over feet. Until, suddenly and rather too abruptly for the Doctor's taste, they stopped walking. They'd arrived apparently. The Doctor looked at the name of the restaurant they'd arrived at. It was called Fialli's. He wracked his brains. It wasn't famous for anything. It wasn't even popular. It was in fact, by the Doctor's reckoning, although probably very nice, just a restaurant. He was almost disappointed. It's important to Clara, he told himself.

"You know," Clara said, as they waited in line to go in. "For a man who spends an inordinate amount of time straightening his bow tie, your bow tie is rarely ever straight!"

The Doctor tried to think of a retort as she reached up to straighten it for him, but it was lost among her eyes and her smile. She leaned up to kiss his cheek and then they linked arms again as they reached the front of the queue.

"Do you have a reservation?" asked the nice blonde lady at the door. The Doctor's eyes widened but Clara nodded with a smile.

"Doctor and Mrs Oswald?" she informed the lady, who checked their names off and nodded, guiding them through the busy restaurant to a small table in the corner. A waiter came over and lit a candle between them, leaving them a bottle of water and a wine list and promising to return shortly.

"How did you get reservations? You didn't know we were coming?" The Doctor asked, with a raised eyebrow. "And Doctor and Mrs Oswald?"

Clara shrugged. "We're a young couple in a fancy restaurant; it only makes sense that we're married. And as for how I got the reservations, I didn't. You're going to nip back a few weeks into the past when we're done here and book it for us," she winked. "Time is relative, didn't you say?" The Doctor looked at her with a strange look, a mixture of pride and shock. "This restaurant," Clara continued. "Was where my dad took my mum for their 20th Wedding Anniversary. Shortly before…" The Doctor reached out and clasped her hand. "I've been telling myself I'd come here, on a date. But I was just waiting for the right man…"

The Doctor blushed. He leaned forward and kissed Clara gently on the cheek. In the process, without noticing, he managed to set his bow tie on fire on the candle. Clara, giggling senselessly despite herself, leaned forward to grab the water. She ripped his bow tie off and dropped it in the water before the flames managed to spread. The Doctor sent her a look of shock and horror.

"You set it on fire," Clara explained.

"I did nothing of the sort," he insisted indignantly. "I was merely testing the flammability of it using the candle. And it seems very flammable is the answer, it'll have to be replaced. I can't have a flammable bow tie. Flammable bow ties are not cool."

Clara was giggling again. If the Doctor thought she was going to accept his ridiculous excuse for even a second, then he was sorely disappointed. The meal itself was exquisite, the finest spaghetti Clara had ever eaten, and although she heard the Doctor muttering something about 15th Century Italy at some point, he smiled and ate up and she was certain that he was enjoying the food more than he was willing to let on. He was telling her about the time he met the Pope when dessert arrived and she had ordered one to share. She shoved her spoon in his mouth to shut him up as he reached the bit about the Cybermen turning up and he spluttered ice cream as she giggled, earning them yet another haughty look from the couple on the table next to them, who had been glaring at them the whole night. Or at least, the woman had. The poor bloke sat opposite her looked thoroughly miserable and completely jealous of all the fun Clara and the Doctor were having. The Doctor had managed to extract the spoon from his mouth and was flicking cream at Clara's face. She gasped as cream sprayed her face and got in her hair. The Doctor looked completely innocent as she shot him a death glare.

"What? Have you got some sort of Time Lord rule against actually eating pudding?" she asked in a mock irritated tone. "Or do you just want to try and annoy me?"

"I'll have you know," the Doctor informed her. "That the great War Council of Gallifrey once got into the greatest food fight of all time. Which, I'd like to point out, I won after smashing Rassilon in the face with a giant Yorkshire pudding. So there."

"You made that up!" Clara insisted, wiping leftover cream from her cheek with her napkin.

"Maybe, but wouldn't life be a lot more fun if everything happened the way I said it did?" The Doctor asked her with a grin. "They're still out there somewhere. All of them. I can still make it happen. I can start the greatest food fight in history. And I'll do it in the name of the great and beautiful Clara Oswald, who didn't believe I could accomplish such a feat!" he was almost shouting by this point and stood as if to prove a point.

Clara dragged him back into his seat, laughing hysterically as she apologised to the nearby couples. She couldn't help but blush at the compliments the Doctor gave her. She'd never thought of herself as beautiful until he said it. But the way that he said it, coming from a man who had seen almost every kind of beauty there was to see…she could almost believe it to be the truth. Clara paid the bill, despite the Doctor's insistence that he could negotiate their way out of it and then they left, back out into the chill of the night. Arm in arm, they strolled down the street, back to Clara's apartment. Clara shivered despite herself at the chill of the night and he swept his jacket around her before she even had a chance to tell him to stop. She shot him an inquisitive look and he shrugged, his arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her in close to him.

"London's such a beautiful city," he mused. "So many amazing things to discover. It's like a mini-universe all of its own, tightly packed into such a small area. And the people here, they can change lives. Even mine."

"Someone's feeling poetic," Clara teased.

"Poetry is music for the soul Clara," he informed her. "And you've restored the poetry to my life. The music to my soul. The spring to my step."

"The annoying cryptic way of speaking that must drive women either to swoon or kill themselves?" Clara added. "Which one do you think I'll be Chin-Boy?"

"I didn't. I mean. Shut up!"

They arrived back at Clara's apartment and the Doctor showed her to her door. She giggled as he opened it for her and then he nodded to her and kissed her hand.

"Thank you Clara Oswald, for an incredible night," he said and headed off back to the TARDIS.

"Oi!" she called after him, a faint and amused smile playing on her lips. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Back to the TARDIS," he told her, looking confused. She smiled at how sweet he was. Her Doctor. She'd have to practically drag him into bed with her.

"I mean, don't you want to come in?" she asked quietly. Nerves were kicking in now and she felt a rush of blood surging through her. "I mean for a cup of tea?" she asked weakly.

"I'd love to," the Doctor said after a moment, a warm smile on his face. "I mean yeah, it's just tea. The old girl's not going anywhere."

The Doctor stepped inside Clara's apartment and she guided him into the lounge. She disappeared into the kitchen and while she was gone, he examined her table. She had a set of photos. One was of her with the Maitlands. Another was of her as a child with both her parents. A recent one of her with her dad. One of just her mother. But it was the last two that caught his attention. They were him. The first one was just him, one she'd taken of him the day that he'd taken her to the beach. Nothing special, just Brighton coast in the 70s. The second one was of both of them, wearing their normal clothing, just a few months ago. The day they went to the National Gallery. The day she convinced him to save Gallifrey. In the end, the Doctor thought he convinced Kate to take it for him, but he couldn't be sure.

"What're you looking at Chin?" Clara asked lightly and he span on the spot. She was holding a red mug and blue mug and as he smiled at her she handed him the red one and sat down. "I fancied a change," she told him as he raised an eyebrow of surprise. Blue was his mug and red hers. That had always been the tradition.

"I was just admiring your photo collection," he smiled. "I'm surprised I'm in there. What do you tell people when they come round?"

Clara chuckled, almost sadly and the Doctor frowned. "You're the only one I ever invite round," she said with a smile. "I never think about what anyone else will think of you, but I like looking at it every day. Reminding me of who's important. What they mean to me. What you mean to me."

The Doctor smiled and threw himself down beside her on the sofa. He relaxed his arm around her, his tea in the other hand and he drank deeply from it. It was still piping hot but refreshing and she also relaxed, leaning against him with her head resting on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head.

"Stay here," she whispered, glancing up at him. "Doctor, my Doctor, stay here with me. Even if it's only for tonight. Please."

"Of course I'll stay Clara," he said, smiling. "I'm always here to guard you."

She settled into position and they didn't speak for a while, merely cuddling up together, drinking tea and deep in thought. The Doctor was tired, so he suspected Clara must've been absolutely knackered. She needed a lot more sleep than he did, being human and he knew she must've been struggling to stay awake, just to lie with him. He felt her drop off in his arms. After a little while, when his tea was all gone, the Doctor picked Clara up into his arms like she weighed nothing and carried her to her bed. He'd never been in her bedroom before and he smiled as he stepped inside. It was painted a pale red, with one wall the bluest blue he could imagine. She had a desk up against the blue wall and on it; there was a photo of them together, a different one to the one that he had seen in the lounge. They had been to the opera and they were wearing smart clothes and beaming. They were holding hands in the picture, the Doctor realised. He probably hadn't even noticed at the time. She was stood on a step so she was almost his height and they looked like the perfect couple.

The Doctor set Clara on her bed. He tucked her under the covers and as he was about to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Stay with me Doctor," she whispered, barely awake but smiling warmly at him. "Stay here beside me and tell me a story."

The Doctor smiled and climbed into bed beside her. She rested against him and he told her a story, as she requested. It was a story about a girl named Clara, who met a madman with a box and who ran away with him. Who saved a little girl on a planet far away, who stopped an evil alien blowing up planet Earth, who helped free a trapped ghost in an old house. Who ended up stuck in his box and having to escape. And who bravely led a group of warriors to victory against the evil Cybermen. A girl, who sacrificed herself to save him. And, when she was asleep, he told her the next part of the story. How the madman fell in love with her.


	5. Chapter 5: The Long Wait

*** Hey peeps. I'm 14 chapters in now (I've just got home from uni so I'm spending a good 5/6 hours a night on it at the moment) so I have no qualms about throwing Chapter 5 into the mix. I've got a decent idea of where we're going but I've been toying with about a dozen endings and everything from "It was all a dream" to actually killing the Doctor or Clara. Truth is, I'm going to keep writing because I have a lot of things to write and developments and sooner or later I'll come up with an ending. This is Chapter 5: The Long Wait which refers to...well you'll see. This is a slightly smuttier chapter but there's nothing too graphic. Enjoy, and as ever, I don't own the characters and all the thanks in the world to the readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters (if that's a word). TPD ***

* * *

When Clara stirred into life, she felt her stomach sink. The Doctor had gone. He wasn't there, lying beside her. She turned over and confirmed what she'd already know, he wasn't lying there. She sighed sadly and wrapped herself in her duvet. It had been too much to ask, she'd known it. Ask the man who was always moving to stay for one night. He couldn't hack it.

"Clara is something wrong?" came a muffled voice. She looked up and sure enough, there he was, dressed only in his shirt and boxers, stumbling back from her en-suite bathroom. "Did you think I'd walked out on you?" he grinned despite himself as he slipped in beside her and she nodded, chastising herself for being so silly. "If it makes you feel better, I'm as surprised as you are that I lasted the night. The poor TARDIS probably thinks I'm going native."

Clara giggled at that, she couldn't help it. She curled herself against the Doctor's body and he lay back, stroking her hair gently. She couldn't sleep anymore, she knew that much, but it was nice just to be able to lie here with the Doctor and not have to worry about anything. Then, she remembered what day it was.

"It's Wednesday," Clara groaned. "I have to go to school. I'm sorry Doctor, but it's already 7:30, you'd better go."

"Clara," the Doctor whispered in her ear. "It's Wednesday. It's our day. And guess what? I have a time machine. We can lie here for a week and still get you to work on time. Although in retrospect, it would bugger up the time stream if you got home from work and we were still lying here. But I can still buy you an extra few hours. I promise."

"Well, if my Doctor thinks that an extra few hours of relaxation are in order, I suppose I can't really argue with that," Clara said in a flirtatious voice. "I'll put the kettle on; you put your bow tie on: it's weird seeing you without it."

"You're the boss," the Doctor saluted and smiled as Clara left the room. He felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Being here, with Clara, made him feel happy, made him forget about the running and the monsters and the TARDIS and just think about the next day and what it would bring with his impossible girl. She returned shortly with their tea and the Doctor smiled at her, unable to drag himself away from how beautiful she looked, even in her big baggy nightshirt with bed hair and no makeup on. Clara Oswald. His Clara.

"You're looking at me all funny," she noted, sitting down beside him and handing him the blue mug. "Have I got something on my face?"

"No," the Doctor chuckled. "I mean you look fine. More than fine. Excellent. Refulgent. Spiffing. Thanks for the tea," he added hurriedly, going a deep shade of crimson and burying his face in the mug, chastising himself.

"You're odd," Clara giggled. "You know that? For someone who's 1200 years old, you'd think that you'd learn how to compliment a woman properly. I am assuming you were going for a compliment," she backtracked with a laugh. "But you got a bit lost somewhere around refulgent."

"I was lucky to make it to refulgent," the Doctor put in. "I got lost somewhere around no. So Clara, what now? Shall we travel the universe or shall we stay in and I can upgrade all your stuff?"

Clara's horrified face at this suggestion told him that the answer was most definitely not upgrading her stuff. He rolled his eyes and jumped out of bed, with perfect flamboyance and somehow managing not to spill his tea. Clara rolled her eyes. He looked at her expectantly and she realised that their plan for the next few hours was still lying in her lap. She could think of one or two things she'd like to do with him…or more specifically to him. But he was all spacey and asexual. Even if he loved her, she couldn't imagine him being any good at the physical stuff.

"Clara?" he interrupted her thoughts with a concerned look and she smiled warmly at him, betraying no hint of the less than innocent thoughts that were running through her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm…" she searched for the right word before grinning like an idiot. "Refulgent."

* * *

They ended up staying in, watching one of Clara's favourite films, Beauty and the Beast. The Doctor began to interject every now and then, but Clara slipped an elbow into his ribcage every time he tried so he gave up and just enjoyed the film. There was a little too music for his taste, but it was worth it to hear Clara subconsciously slip into song every now and then under her breath, probably unaware she was even doing it. She blushed furiously when the Doctor pointed it out afterwards, but he merely kissed the top of her head and told her it was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. Clara then burst his bubble by pointing out that she had to get ready for school and the Doctor grumbled for a bit before acknowledging that she had to get on with her life at some point. For Clara herself, it was tough, knowing that she'd have to leave him for a day, every day, but she supposed that the more time she spent in the TARDIS, the less time a day would feel like. It was a strange concept. But also, knowing that she could just go. She didn't need a life here, a life without the Doctor. As she stepped out of the TARDIS, dressed and ready to teach, she smiled sadly and he cupped her cheek. They were just around the corner from the school and it was 8:00. She had an hour.

"Clara, I know what you're thinking," he said quietly. "But I'll be around. Always, whenever and wherever you choose. And if you ever want to completely forget this life then I'll be waiting for if you do. But never forget what you're giving up. You love teaching. Don't let me detract from that. Because we can still meet at the end of the day and go for dinner together in Ancient China or future Glasgow. We can be like a real…"

"Couple?" Clara finished with more than a hint of a smile. "Down boy. Is that you asking me out?"

"No," he started, jumping back. "Wait, no isn't the right answer. Maybe? I think maybe is the right answer? Or is it yes?"

"Doctor," Clara interrupted. "Our relationship isn't normal. It never can be or will be. But we can still spend every free second together, saving worlds and having dinner. And we will be a real couple. Just not in the generic sense. You don't have to ask me out on a date, or ask my dad for permission or any of that crap. You just have to be there."

He nodded his approval and kissed her goodbye, on the lips this time, a deep seated kiss that made Clara feel like she was glowing as she entered the school. Tom commented on how good she looked that morning, with seemingly no memory of the previous day. She supposed he was probably commenting because he fancied her, but she felt good. The Doctor had made her special. And in the end, that was all anyone could ask for. She headed to her classroom to put down her things and when she arrived, her jaw dropped. He was sat at her desk again.

"Hello Clara!" the Doctor grinned. "Miss me?"

"What're you doing here?" she asked, giggling despite herself. "We just said goodbye!"

"I'm being here. That's what you wanted right? Me to be here? I popped back in time by an hour, made you a cup of tea, I fetched some flowers from the best spring of 16th Century England, and they're in this vase I picked up. Had it engraved with your name in 11th Century France, just because. I also sorted out all your lesson plans for the next month, spiced up a bit. Ooh and I managed to fix all the kids desks; they're now gum proof…"

Whatever else the Doctor had done, Clara never intended to find out as she threw herself on him, pressing her lips forcefully against his. He spluttered and tried to stop himself toppling over, but the chair gave way, tilting backwards and they ended up in a muddled heap on the floor of the classroom. The Doctor soniced the door shut, with the blinds falling down. She grinned, sat on his chest, their kiss now forceful.

"Clara!" he hissed, breaking the kiss. "You could lose your job!"

"Nah, we have a good half an hour until any kids arrive and besides, I thought you had a friend on the board of governors?" Clara asked playfully, kissing him again. He gave in this time, kissing her back and putting his hands on her waist. "I love you," she gasped, in between kisses, as his mouth went to her neck. "Everything you've done for me is so incredible. You've managed to make normal life, your life."

"I'd do anything for you Clara," the Doctor informed her, in between raking kisses up and down her body. "You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. You helped me see the way to save my whole planet, my whole species. You stopped me committing the single greatest atrocity in history. And you sacrificed yourself for me, a million times over. I can never match what you've done for me, and by fixing your desks so they're gum proof and making you a cup of tea, I'm not even putting a dent in it. I love you too. My impossible girl."

Clara wanted to reply but at that point he made her moan with a soft nibble of her ear and she responded by slipping her hand down his trousers. He looked positively shocked but didn't say anything about it, his face changing drastically. Clara giggled and then sat up, dragging him with her.

"Later," she informed him, coming to her senses and neatening her dress as he grinned sheepishly and straightened his bow tie. "Pop round about 5, we can go for dinner. You can choose this time, but somewhere or some when I've never been before. Surprise me Chin-Boy."

The Doctor nodded and smiled, his mind clearly thinking of all the possibilities that he could come up with. The TARDIS would be thrilled, he thought. He was going to take her to somewhere where she could soak up the cosmic radiation. Her navigation system might actually work for once. He stepped out into the corridor after he hugged Clara goodbye and strolled out towards the back car park and then around the corner to the Foreman's Yard where he'd parked the TARDIS. It seemed familiar. Trotter's Lane…he couldn't remember why. It would come to him eventually. He dematerialized and the TARDIS groaned as he hammered three of the levers at once.

"Come on old girl, it's only a 9 hour hop," he muttered. Then something occurred to him. What if he overshot? He slammed the brakes on and the TARDIS spluttered, still halfway through dematerialising. He couldn't take the risk. With Amy, he'd missed so much of her life. With Rose, he'd taken a whole year out of hers. With both Donna and Martha, it hadn't mattered; they were on board the majority of the time. But with Clara…he had been alright aiming for one day a week, he could manage that. She appreciated he was always overshooting and not always managing Wednesdays…but if he overshot now? He didn't want to miss any of her life, not one day or even one hour. So he sat down in the TARDIS, peeking his head outside to check that he had managed to stop her taking off. The Doctor decided to sit back and went to look for a good book that he hadn't read before. After a good hour of searching the interior of his TARDIS, he found a copy of Deathly Hallows, which he hadn't re-read in a good century. He settled down and buried his head in the book, his thoughts focused entirely on making the hours until he saw Clara again pass as quickly as possible…

* * *

The final bell finally rang and Clara felt a wave of excitement rush through her. She was nervous as hell and had had to hold back a puke at lunchtime, refusing all offers of food and saying that she felt ill when quizzed. Tom had been sweet as usual and a couple of the older teachers had chatted to her about some of her lesson plans and the new eccentric physics teacher set to start the next day, but the day had dragged and all she could think about was that final bell, so she could see her Doctor. She hoped this wouldn't be every day from now on and told herself it wouldn't be that way. Because this would be it, she told herself. That night. She'd slept with men before, but nothing like this. Not only was he not human, but he was totally unlike any other guy she'd slept with. He was everything to her and she was willing to give him everything she had. No holding back. No regrets.

"You seem in a hurry Clara," Madge, one of the older history teachers noted, as she skipped into the staffroom to grab her stuff. "Meeting someone special are we?"

"Yes actually, Madge," Clara grinned, throwing her red satchel over her shoulder. "I've got a hot date. I have absolutely no idea where we're going but his choices are anything but boring, so it'll be a magical night one way or the other."

Madge shot her a look of pure envy. "Ah to be young and in love," she chuckled. "Give it your all while you still can Clara. One day you'll be my age, looking back and wishing you'd grasped every second when you had the chance. If he's that good to you, don't let him go."

"Oh believe me," Clara grinned. "I have no intention of letting him go anywhere. Not without me at any rate."

She skipped out the doors, letting her feet guide her at a quick pace down the road towards their normal meeting spot. She was grinning like a maniac, her hair and satchel bouncing in tandem as she rounded the final corner. And her heart sank. The TARDIS was gone…

* * *

The TARDIS doors burst open and Clara rushed in, throwing her satchel at the Doctor's face as he looked up in surprise, just reaching the scene where Harry was killed by Voldemort. The satchel connected and he went spinning, leaping to his feet and preparing himself for the ongoing assault. He spotted Clara and smiled warmly at her, but she was not impressed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, horror-struck. "I can't be late can I? I didn't even take off! I've been sat in here all day, reading. Reading Harry Potter actually. Great book, I cried like a baby when Hedwig died, didn't you? Ah off topic. Why're you angry?"

"Because," Clara flailed her arms, a smile popping onto her face despite herself. "Do you have any idea how long it took me to find your stupid box? When you weren't parked where you normally are, I panicked. I mean I thought you'd overshot! I thought you might have…left. Left me. Changed your mind and vanished. Or you'd been killed by a Dalek."

He pulled her in close and hugged her so tightly; he thought she might disappear into the folds of his jacket. He could feel her anger dissipating. "Clara," he whispered. "I'm always going to be here. I couldn't exactly park where I dropped you off, because I was already parked there. So I found this place. I would've moved her but I was scared. Scared of missing you, scared of overshooting."

"You waited," she giggled, separating herself from him. "For me, you waited. All day? Like a human? I thought time was relative?"

"It is," the Doctor informed her. "But sometimes, once in a while, even my time can be linear. When I don't want to miss a second of it. I normally just skip to the good bits. But, Clara Oswald, every second of you is a good bit. And the prospect of missing one second of you is scary enough that I can take a few hours of waiting around. I've spent years waiting around, Clara. Waiting for you. I can handle a few hours."

She kissed him now, passion flowing through her as she wrestled his jacket off him. He flailed for about half a second and Clara realised his flails were getting shorter. She pushed him backwards, through the console room and out the other side, into a corridor. Her own jacket was on the floor by now and their hands were meshed in the other's hair. She was breathing deeply, alternating her kisses between his neck and his mouth. They tumbled into a bedroom, which Clara assumed was a spare but ceased to care. Her dress was hanging by a thread as he tore at it, until it finally fell and she was down to her underwear. His suspenders went and she tore at his own shirt. He took off his bow tie and she shook her head. She removed his shirt and pointed at the bow tie.

"Put that back on," she demanded, as she went to work on his trousers. "I like you better with the bow tie."

"You're the boss, the Doctor gasped as he sprawled it around his neck and then leaned across Clara to undo her bra. She squealed slightly as it fell and she pushed him down onto the bed.

"Geronimo," she whispered.


	6. Chapter 6: Drinking and TARDISing

***Congrats to at least one reviewer who confidently predicted something that proves the case in this Chapter. I should be able to keep updating once a day, I'm miles ahead of where I thought I'd be with the story and I'll let you know when I've finally thought of an ending. This is in my top three personal favourite chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. So this is Chapter 6, in which Clara thinks getting the Doctor drunk is a good idea...***

* * *

"So Clara," Madge sat down opposite her, a wry smile on her face. "How was your hot date last night?"

Clara blushed a furious shade of crimson. The Doctor had had an amazing evening planned but it had all gone out of the window the second that they were in the TARDIS. They'd had the best sex of Clara's life and after that, they just ended up relaxing in the TARDIS all night, time passing once again the long way round and by the time the morning had arrived, Clara had had to nip home to change, still wearing yesterday's clothes. As much as she had loved the night, the last thing she wanted was for the whole school to realise she hadn't gone home last night.

"It was…" Clara paused and Madge laughed.

"I get you," she grinned at the younger girl. "It was mind-blowing, I can tell by the look on your face. You've not been able to stop smiling all morning and you have that glow. That 'I've just had the best night of my life' glow. I used to get that twice a day back in the 80s."

"Madge," scolded her friend Claudia as Clara burst into a fit of giggles and went even redder. "Stop scarring poor Clara. Speaking of hot blokes," she leaned in conspiratorially, as if she was able to say some great secret. "The new physics teacher everyone's been talking about is a real hottie."

"Really?" Madge asked, and Clara chuckled. "What's he look like?"

"Purple jacket, bow tie, flippy hair. Skinny thing but not that skinny. Ah here he is now! Clara love, you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Claudia looked at her with concern, but Clara was already wheeling round, horror evident on her face as she saw who was stood right behind her.

"Hello Clara," the Doctor greeted. "Bet you didn't expect this did you? I was walking past the other day and I just thought, what the hey I can be a teacher, teaching is cool after all. Ladies," the Doctor nodded to Claudia and Madge and they both giggled like small children.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Clara announced.

"Ah, have you eaten breakfast?" the Doctor asked. "I did tell you to get some toast when you got here but obviously you ignored my advice. Here, have some tea," he thrust a mug into her hands. "You'll feel a lot better."

"You two know each other?" Madge asked, her lips curling up into a wicked smile. Clara felt very faint all of a sudden. She must still be on the TARDIS, dreaming. The machine was playing with her mind. Yep, that was it. Because there was absolutely no way in hell that the Doctor, her Doctor, was here, making niceties with the other teachers and preparing to teach kids.

"Yes," Clara mumbled absent-mindedly. "This is the Doctor. He's…"

"Your hot date?" Madge finished. The Doctor shot Clara a look of shock.

"You told them I was hot?" he grinned. "Makes a change, most of you lot are so stubborn when it comes to that sort of thing. Amy spent a good few years never telling River I was…never mind. Clara, are you alright?"

"Yeah," Clara nodded. "I think so. Just…this is odd. And unexpected. And, you didn't think to warn me before you got a job at my school?" she hissed under her breath, dragging him away from the other teachers. "What did you do, go back in time a month or so and schmooze the school board? Oh my God that's exactly what you did isn't it?" she groaned. "Why? Why? What for? What was wrong with just sitting in the TARDIS or going off to save planets while I teach?"

"Well Clara," the Doctor replied. "I figured that I didn't want to overshoot, and I didn't fancy sitting around in the TARDIS all day, plus I love kids. So I just thought, what the hell, become a teacher, spend all day with Clara Oswald and then when we finish at 5…"

"The universe?" Clara finished with a smile.

"Geronimo," replied the Doctor.

It had only been a few weeks since she and the Doctor had first slept together and he'd shown up the next day to secure a job, but for Clara, it felt like a lifetime. They taught at school, spent breaks and lunches together, occasionally nipping off for a quick trip to Mars or wherever. Then, when the days were over, they'd hop into the TARDIS and travel the stars, save worlds, do what they did. Sometimes they'd just take one trip, sometimes they'd be gone for days. The other half of their nights, they spent in Clara's apartment, walking films, cuddling and more. It wasn't that they didn't sleep together on the TARDIS but Clara felt more intimate in her own bed, and as much as she'd never admit it, she didn't like the prospect of the TARDIS watching them do it. She knew the Doctor would tell her she was being silly, so she never voiced that particular thought aloud, however. The only downside was that poor Tom was acting like a kicked puppy whenever she was around and it was even worse when the Doctor sat with them at lunchtime. She felt bad, but she'd never led Tom on and she'd done her best to try and make it clear to them both that the Doctor was the only man for her.

As for the Doctor, he was having the time of his life. He hadn't settled in a long time, so to spend some time with kids, knowing Clara was nearby, made him feel happy and warm and it meant he got to rant on about quantum mechanics to his heart's content, even if he to slow down every now and then so that the kids could catch up. He'd suggested to Clara a field trip to the TARDIS but she quickly quelled that idea. Clara. His Clara. They spent their nights roaming the universe. As much as the Doctor loved Clara, loved sleeping with Clara, loved Clara's apartment, his favourite thing in the world to do was show off to Clara. As much as their life together was entrenched in her world, he never felt free until they were in his, whooshing off to God knows where or when, defeating bad guys and saving planets. The Doctor always tried to make their trips as long as he could, but he was getting good at realising when Clara wanted to go home. Sometimes it would just be the way she smiled, weary of the world or the way she hugged him, clear she wanted to take him to bed or when she was scared because they'd been chased by a soul-eating alien spider. They'd overshot as often as not, but the Doctor was taking precautions. Clara was to leave her alarm clock set to the right date and time so they could check it when they landed. As long as that was the only thing they checked, they could rematerialize on the right day without corrupting the time lines.

The only problem was that on more than one occasion, they materialised in front of themselves having sex. The Doctor still found that an amusing quirk of time travel. Clara always found it mortifying. She hated looking at herself naked. At least she could have some fun with the Doctor, inviting them to join in as the Doctor spluttered and stumbled for words. Even though he knew it was going to happen, he still couldn't think of an adequate response. Clara giggled to herself (literally) as the Doctor would shove her back into the TARDIS. And then he'd wink at himself. He always thought Clara wouldn't see it, but she did. Every time.

It was the work half term party. The Doctor, not used to such events, had insisted that they didn't go. Clara, who loved such events, had insisted that they did. So naturally, they went. Clara baked a soufflé. Then the Doctor baked a soufflé, switched it with Clara's burnt one and pretended it was Clara's. Clara asked the Doctor what he was going to bring, and then he grumbled for a while, before disappearing into the TARDIS and plucking out a bottle of wine from 1841. Clara told him it was expensive. The Doctor informed her he'd picked it up for half a chicken. She'd then realised it was from 1841 BC and told him it was priceless. He grumbled a bit more and went back into the TARDIS, finally re-emerging with the other half of the chicken. She went round the corner shop and picked up a bottle.

Still grumbling, as Clara had made him change out of his normal clothes and into a black and white suit and bow tie and wouldn't let him take the TARDIS with them, the Doctor handed the valet his coat, having being warned by Clara not to leave anything in the pockets. The Doctor had spent an hour fishing around for a baby duckling he had stored somewhere. Clara had wanted to wring his neck and informed him she was going to buy him a normal sized jacket. He insisted it was normal, but the pockets weren't. She told him that was what she'd meant. Nevertheless, he'd slipped his sonic into his jacket pocket. He hated the idea of defying Clara but he hated the idea of being shorn from his screwdriver, even for the night more. What if he needed it? Clara wouldn't object if it saved her from a humiliating dress failure or the like.

It was a wonderful evening, Clara thoroughly enjoyed it and she suspected the Doctor did too, as much as he grumbled. People commented on how lovely a couple they were, the food was delicious, Clara got more than a little drunk and they danced. It was nearly eleven by the time that the Doctor pulled Clara away from the dance floor and they sat down on a table, watching the antics of the evening unfold. Clara grabbed another glass of wine and the Doctor smirked despite himself.

"What're you smirking at Chin-Boy?" she asked, slurring her words slightly. "Don't you ever get drunk?"

"Clara, I'm over a thousand years old," he pointed out. "I have developed a tolerance for alcohol way above that of the human race. We Time Lords are notorious drinkers."

The Doctor woke up with a stinking hangover, so torrential he thought his head had split.

"Clara!" he yelled, wincing at the sound of his own voice. "I think I was spiked by a Raboston brain-fuddling drug. It's the only possible explanation for the pain in my skull!"

"No you idiot," she groaned from the toilet where she was lurched over the bowl. "You just had too much to drink." She stopped speaking to wretch, the Doctor looking away as she vomited into the toilet. "You claimed your Time Lord stomach could handle anything, so I filled you up with wine and tequila. In your defence, you did better than Tom. Poor sod passed out after two shots."

"I am the Oncoming Storm!" the Doctor informed her, stumbling to his feet and straightening his bow tie.

The Oncoming Storm promptly vomited on Clara's carpet. Groaning, the Doctor crawled into the bathroom and joined Clara at the toilet bowl. She shook her head, pointing upwards to the sink. She looked as bad as he felt, bits of sick in her hair and down her face and clothes. She was still wearing the dress from last night, but it was stained with mud and sick. Her hair was all over the place and what remained of her makeup was streaked like something out of a horror movie.

"You look lovely dear," the Doctor informed her, before unleashing the contents of his stomach into Clara's sink. She shot him a tired version of her usual death stare but he didn't notice, as he tried to focus on stopping his head spinning. "I'm sure I have something for this in the TARDIS…"

"I have something for this in the kitchen," Clara informed him. "A shot of brandy, a dark black coffee and a bacon sandwich. It's your turn."

The Doctor groaned as he staggered to the kitchen. As he opened the fridge, he nodded to the group of five Adipose sat on Clara's sofa. He then did a double-take. Adipose? On Clara's sofa? The Doctor's eyes widened. Well how did they get there? He ran over to them and found they were jumping on top of a small DVD in a black case. The Doctor put the DVD into the player and flicked on the TV.

"Oh God," he muttered. It was Clara, dancing. Topless. She was surrounded by about five different alien species. A few Malmooth, a couple of Zocci and Vinvocci floating around, what looked like a Graske, some Catpeople and a Judoon. Then, sure enough, the Doctor staggered onto screen, grabbing Clara and dragging her into the kitchen, out of view of the camera. When they returned, they were both ruffled and the Doctor was grinning. It was obvious what they had been doing.

"Alright you lot," he shouted. "Back off home, come on! Not you Adipose, you can stay, you're only little after all. Come on, everyone back to the TARDIS! Even you, you sneaky little Zocci…"

The video ended and the Doctor took a deep breath. He went back into the kitchen and did as Clara ordered, taking a shot of brandy and saving one for her (she was going to need it) and making two cups of strong coffee and two bacon sandwiches. He demolished his bacon quickly and took Clara's upstairs for her on a tray, with a plate of little chocolates as well. He also decided to utilise Mrs Alberry's rose bush, as he reckoned he was going to need the backup. He smiled warmly at her, feeling a lot better already but simultaneously wanting to be anywhere other than where he was. Clara was going to kill him. Why on earth it was his fault was beyond him but inevitably he'd get the blame. It was his spaceship after all. Maybe he could blame the TARDIS…

"Hmm, Doctor this is delicious," Clara was brightening up already. "And the flowers are lovely. Thank you so much! Wait a minute…" she froze. "What did you do?"

"Me?" the Doctor cried exasperatedly. "Why are you assuming I did something?"

"Because you're being extra nice, so you feel guilty about something. What? What happened?"

"Now Clara," the Doctor started. "Before you get all angry and shouty and do that face you do, yes that exact face there!" he pointed at her face but realised his mistake and gulped. "I want you to bear in mind that no harm was done, your house is fine, we're fine and we were both very, very drunk. Therefore, I feel any responsibility should be shared evenly between us, even though it's your fault I was drunk…" Her eyes were narrowed to slits at this point. "It's a possibility that we may have taken the TARDIS out for a spin. Now I know that drink-driving is illegal where you come from, but fortunately there's no such law against TARDISing and driving. And if there was, there'd be nobody to enforce it. Except me. And let's face it; I can hardly stop myself from TARDISing and driving right?"

"We went off in the TARDIS?" she quizzed. "While hammered?"

"Yes. And then we had a party. Here. And we invited some neighbours. And by neighbours, I mean neighbouring species. From other planets. That really aren't near Earth at all. Or even from the same time period some of them. So really, when you think about it, they weren't neighbours at all."

Clara's eyes bulged and her head slumped. She groaned and threw her head into her hands.

"I can't believe this," she sighed. "What on earth was I thinking getting you drunk? Nothing's broken yeah? None of the neighbours saw?"

"Well," the Doctor pointed out. "If they did see, they'd have just assumed that we were throwing a party with some costumed friends, not real aliens. That would be far too implausible. And if it makes you feel better, from the video it looked like you enjoyed yourself…Oh and kudos on the new tattoo! I love it. The likeness is uncanny!"

"I got a tattoo?" Clara's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of her head. "What of, where? Wait, did you just say there was a video?"

This was the most humiliating moment of Clara's life. She watched as she was groped by a Vinvocci, slugged him out for it and then had the Doctor drag her away kicking and screaming. She and the Doctor had had sex on her kitchen floor, there had been balls of fat in her living room and to top it all off, she even had the bastard's face tattooed on her back. Why on earth anyone would want the Doctor's face tattooed on them was a mystery to Clara. The Doctor had disappeared. He insisted it was to clean up their mess and check the TARDIS records but she suspected he was desperate to avoid her wrath. Not that it was his fault. Well more his fault than hers at any rate. While he was gone, she scrubbed the house from top to bottom, deleted the video and searched for any signs of further indiscretion. She apologised to the neighbours, most of who weren't that bothered and had a long hot bath, irritated to no end to realise that the Doctor's face was still stubbornly stuck to her back. The Doctor had scanned it and confirmed it was in fact, a real tattoo but as he put it: "Only a flimsy human one."

The sound of the TARDIS materialising woke Clara from sleep. She'd taken a quick nap after cleaning and it was almost 3 in the afternoon. Thank God they didn't have school, or she'd never have made it. That said, over half the teachers would also have had to call in sick. Most of them had barely been able to stand…

"Right, Clara!" the Doctor burst in with a grin. "I've checked the TARDIS logs and made sure everyone's back where they should be. We started off by going to a world famous tattoo parlour in the US; luckily I was too squeamish to get the needle according to the lovely man who owned the place. Then, we went to an intergalactic bar where we invited everyone to a Time Lord party, which they couldn't resist. Then, when we dropped them all back at the bar, except the Adipose, we headed to Vegas, back in the 90s. I asked around, turns out we went to a really cool chapel and met a brilliant Elvis impersonator. Look, he gave me this fake marriage license, how cool is that? Clara, you look a little pale…"

"Doctor," Clara was trembling. "You do realise, that we actually got married? In Vegas? Really, actually, properly married? We're married. It even says on it: Doctor John Oswald and Mrs Clara Oswald. We've been married for 17 years!"

"Oh," the Doctor grinned. "So we have. Listen, I stopped off at a future supply store, rubbing this cream over your tattoo will dissolve it in 12 hours. You may have a slight rash, but that's clear up in no time. Side-effects include: nausea, heart-attack, hair falling out…"

"Doctor, shut up!" Clara snapped, grabbing the cream off him. "We're married. What're you going to do about it?"

"Oh," he looked surprised. "Do we have to do something about it? I kind of like the idea of being married. You can be Mrs Doctor. Mrs Doctor Oswald. Clara Doctor-Oswald. Aren't names fun Clara?"

"If that TARDIS isn't dematerialising in ten seconds," she said through gritted teeth. "I am going to go in there and set fire to every single bow tie, fez and stetson I can find. And if you think I'm going to so much as think about doing that thing we did the other night, ever again, then you are sadly mistaken. So get in that TARDIS and unless the first words I hear when you get back are: 'We aren't married anymore!', then I am going to your one remaining bow tie, the one currently around your neck and choke you with it. Are we clear?"

"Yes Mrs Doctor," the Doctor replied, acting like a naughty child caught stealing sweets. She threw a pillow at him and he ran, haring out the house as Clara chased him, throwing random bits of bric-a-brac playfully and laughing despite herself. As the TARDIS dematerialised, Clara couldn't help but smile. She was married. Married to the Doctor. Her Doctor. It wasn't even an odd notion, not to her. But if they were going to get married, she wanted to do it properly. She wanted her Dad, Angie, Artie, and all of her friends there beside her. She giggled to herself at the thought of it and settled down on the sofa. She grabbed the cream that the Doctor had given her, checking the instructions. Thankfully, he had been kidding about the side-effects, although she would have to put up with a rash for a few days. She'd make him apply it when he got back, she decided. Grinning smugly, she lounged and flicked on the TV, grabbing the brandy bottle and taking a swig to hold back the rapidly recovering hangover. She heard a knock at the door and rolled her eyes. He'd taken his time.

"I hope you're about to tell me we're not married anymore!" she said, crossing her arms as she flung open the door. She faltered in shock as a man who wasn't the Doctor stood on her doorstep. He was tall, dark and very handsome. He wore an old, blue army jacket and grinned cheekily. When he spoke, he had an American twang to his voice.

"Don't worry love, you're not the first girl to answer the door to me that way and you won't be the last either," he winked and she felt her stomach lurch. She wasn't sure if that was his charm or the bacon. "Captain Jack Harkness. And you must be Clara Oswald."


	7. Chapter 7: Captain Jack

***What's that I hear you ask? You want a chapter that involves Captain Jack shooting Daleks? Well friends, I have just the chapter for you! Still no word on the ending but I'm 18 chapters in so I'll have to think of one soon... As ever, thanks to all my followers, my reviewers, my readers and my favouriters. And I apologise in advance for the cliffhanger...but I won't leave you stewing too long, check back tomorrow peeps.***

* * *

"I must admit, Miss Oswald," Jack continued. "You're a lot more beautiful than I expected. Or would I rather I called you Clara? Can I come in?"

"Is this what you do?" she asked, biting her lip. "Seduce women and convince them to let a total stranger into their house? Who are you?" She had a sneaking suspicion that she knew the answer to that. "Are you a friend of the Doctor's?"

"Doctor? Doctor Who?" Jack grinned as if to say that it was definitely a yes. "I just happened to hear that a beautiful, young, single girl named Clara Oswald lived here. The regular TARDIS sightings, strange alien goings on and the fact that you have a Time Lord teaching at your school have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I'm here. I hear he's changed faces again. That must be nice, no matter how old I get, I'm still stuck with this old mug. Shame it seems he's gone for an odd face this time."

"I happen to like his new face," Clara snapped, and then bit her tongue as Jack roared with laughter at this. "I mean…"

"Don't worry about it Clara," Jack chuckled. "You're not the first and you won't be the last. Boy, that man sure knows how to make Earth girls swoon. But don't worry, he won't try anything. For all his reputation, I'm not sure the Doctor's actually gotten laid in centuries."

Clara blushed furiously and hoped that this strange man wouldn't pick up on it. Jack's jaw dropped.

"No!" he never seemed to stop smiling. "You're kidding me? The sly bastard! Please, tell me all about what he's like in the sack. I'm never going to let him live this down! Ohh boy, this is glorious. Never thought I'd see the day I'm bump into a companion that the Doctor has bumped into. Literally."

Jack was laughing even more at this point and Clara instantly felt a wave of emotion. She felt very insecure, very special, very humiliated and very smug all at the same time. She motioned to Jack to come in; he seemed friendly enough and clearly knew exactly who the Doctor was. He beamed as she showed him into the living room and sat him down on the sofa, offering him a hot drink. He refused, but Clara knew his eye was on the bottle of brandy on the table so handed him a glass.

"So how do you know the Doctor?" she asked, partially to make conversation, but also because she was painstakingly desperate to find out more about his past she didn't already know.

"Oh I met him two faces ago," Jack replied. "At least I think it was two. He was all leather jacket, serious face. Said fantastic a lot?" Clara nodded in agreement. "Good. Well he pitched up in the middle of World War II with Rose in tow, you've heard about Rose of course?" Clara pulled a face. "Thought so. I was a different man back then, hundreds of years ago. No I don't look it do I?" he winked as Clara's jaw dropped. "He picked me up and we travelled for a bit. Then, shit got complex. I became immortal, he left me behind, I spent 100 years on Earth waiting for him to come back, yadda yadda. I found him again alright but I decided to stay here, on earth. I've not seen him in a long time. Not since he was…"

"His old face. Sandshoes," Clara grinned and Jack chuckled. "I've met him. That him I mean. He seems like a tease. So what're you doing here?"

"Looking for the Doctor," Jack chuckled. "So what's your story Clara? All I know is that there have been clear signs that this address has a visiting Time Lord, so I checked out who owned it. And sure enough, Clara Oswald, here we are."

"Well," Clara blushed. "He just pitched up on my doorstep. I called him, looking for the Wi-Fi and there he was on my door. He was really…odd. So I shut the door in his face." Jack snorted with laughter. "But he saved my life. He looked after me. And then he invited me to jump in his Snogbox and fly away…" Another rambunctious laugh. "So I did. And he showed me amazing things. Worlds and creatures beyond my wildest dreams. But it turns out he'd been looking for me. Said I was impossible. His impossible girl. And I was so scared and confused. And then we went to Trenzalore. And I jumped into his time stream," Jack gasped out loud. "And I was ripped into a million pieces. I thought that was it, I was dead. But there was still one me. One tiny, little original part of me left. And he came in to save me. And he dragged me out. He rescued me. And we've been travelling together ever since. And then…"

"And then you seduced him?" Jack suggested. Clara shot him a look and he shrugged his shoulders. "The Doctor's not the seducing type."

"We fell in love," Clara admitted. "And then we slept together. And now, we're sort of living together. Here, in this house, well half the time at least. We work together, and then we jump in the Snogbox and fly away. It's the perfect life. My Doctor."

Jack was shooting her a look of pure warmth and envy. She felt guilty. Jack would probably give anything to be in her position and here she was rubbing it in his face. She must've looked guilty because Jack leaned forward and touched her shoulder lightly.

"Don't worry about me Clara, I gave up that life a long time ago and I don't regret my decisions. It's been tough, but I'm glad I got the chance to travel with him, even if it had to end. I'm happy that he's happy. That you're both so happy. I didn't think he'd ever find someone who connected with him the same way…"

"The same way that Rose did?" Clara asked, her voice harsher than she'd intended and Jack backed off.

"Sorry," he smiled. "I can understand your frustration. I've had sex with people who are now dust, so long ago that it's possible I've had sex with their grandkids. Creepy thought I know. Rose was a great girl, but she was another face, another lifetime. God knows how long…"

"300 years," Clara informed him. "Give or take. I know he has exes, I just like to think…"

"You like to think that you're special?" Jack smiled warmly. "That he doesn't compare you to them? That you're not competing with the ghosts of the Doctor's past? He's no different to any other guy Clara. Everyone has history, everyone has drama. The only difference is: his drama is decades or centuries in the past for him, rather than months and years. If he loves you, he loves you. And there's nobody that can stop that. Except you and him."

Clara smiled warmly and Jack hugged her. At which point the Doctor burst in.

"Clara!" he yelled. "I got us an annulment! We're not married anymore! I also picked up fish and chips from the year 2062, a pet goldfish for the flat that may or may not be the Queen of the fish people, and also, a friend of mine will probably pop over at some point, Captain Jack Harkness. Whatever you do, don't let him say…"

"Hello," Jack said with a grin and the Doctor's face dropped.

"Oh, he's already here. He didn't try anything did he?"

"No," Clara chuckled, throwing her arms around the Doctor and kissing his cheek appreciatively. "He's been really lovely. We were just sharing stories of how we met you."

"Doctor," Jack was chuckling. "Married again are we?"

"No," he protested. "I mean, not really. Not even slightly. I got an annulment. See, it's all very fancy. Clara's just a friend." She kicked his shin. "Clara's my girlfriend. I mean, I spend some nights here, occasionally."

"Either Clara's desperately overstating your relationship Doc, or you're desperately underplaying it," Jack teased. "Well, your companions are always desperate. Remember that one who insisted on…"

"Okay, fine, she's right!" The Doctor yelled to shut up Jack. "We've been doing, young people things. In her bed. And in the TARDIS, who I don't think likes it. She's been whining at me. Although I did let the Zocci breed in there…"

"Sounds like the Zocci aren't the only one breeding," Jack teased and Clara and the Doctor both went bright red and started stammering. Jack shook his head. It finally seemed like he'd given up laughing at them. "Anyway Doctor, I have a mission for us. Top secret, super dangerous, don't bring the Missus and all that. I'd ask if you want to tag along Clara, but frankly I doubt even if he left you behind you'd let that stop you. So, I'm only going to say this once. Doctor, don't let her come."

"He's not the boss of me," Clara insisted, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. The Doctor nodded as if to agree with her.

"Daleks." Jack had only said the one word, but his voice and face had gone deadly serious. Upon him saying it, so did the Doctor's. Clara knew enough about the Daleks to know that this wasn't good. The Doctor hated the Daleks, they were the ones he'd been willing to kill his own people to destroy. They were his greatest enemies and they'd fought him in the Time War. Clara had only ever seen one when they were hiding on Gallifrey, in the painting, but she knew that one of her echoes had fought them. Had become one. She knew this was bad. The Doctor looked torn. She looked at him and he smiled at her, but he was clearly running this over in his head. Jack muttered something about giving them a minute and went off to explore Clara's bathroom.

"Clara," the Doctor said quietly. "I am not the boss of you and I never will be."

"You don't want me to go." It was a statement not a question. Clara couldn't help but sound disappointed.

"Jack can't die. I can't die. You. You're human," he put his hand on her cheek, feeling how delicate she was. Clara looked into his eyes, saw his heart breaking. "And you can't die. Not because you physically can't die, but if you do. It's my fault. And yes, we go running and it's dangerous. But this is different. This is the Daleks. And as much as I know we could end up anywhere, I never aim to take you anywhere potentially dangerous."

"You took me to Trenzalore," she pointed out. "You took me into the Time War. You know I'm by your side, all the way. To hell and back. No stupid Dalek is going to stop us from being a team. You need me. You and Jack. You claim you're both immortal but we both know that's a lie, at least on your part. So if you think I'm letting you both walk into a fight with the Daleks without backup then you're insane."

"Clara Oswald," the Doctor pulled a pained face. "Why are humans always so stubborn?"

"Because that's why you like us," Clara pointed out. "Now go get Jack, we have some Daleks to face."

* * *

Jack explained the situation. A Dalek ship had been picked up on radar just the other side of Jupiter and the aim was to shut it down. Jack himself was currently running solo, no team, no back up, and no friends. He'd been hacking into U.N.I.T channels for a while, however, which is how he'd been able to pick up the Doctor and also how he'd realised what the ship was. U.N.I.T had no clue and thought it was an asteroid or something, but Jack had been able to extrapolate it and get a better look. The Doctor stayed silent as Jack spoke, occasionally nodding and muttering things. He was clearly deep in thought and he never took his eye off of Clara for more than half a second.

"You won't be able to land the TARDIS," Jack was explaining. "I hijacked a satellite and ran a full diagnostic scan. Here," he showed them his laptop. "The ship has serious shielding and TARDIS sensors that'll spot you trying to materialise a mile away. No point even trying unless we can get those shields down. A two man team should be able to sneak in and with the right weaponry; they can hold off the Daleks and get those shields lowered."

"Why do we need to land the TARDIS?" Clara asked. "If we need another way onto the ship anyway, what does it matter?"

"Because," the Doctor replied. "If we can land the TARDIS, we can plug her into the Dalek mainframe and upload all their information. Find out what they're up to. And make sure they've still forgotten about me. Plus, we can remotely control the messages the ship sends back, wipe out all the Daleks and make it seem like everything's normal."

"That's the plan in a nutshell," Jack grinned. "So all I need from you Doctor, is a gun and my vortex manipulator and we'll be on that ship lickety-split."

"You said a two-man team," Clara mused. "Why not just you?"

"I need one person to hold off the Daleks whilst I disable their shielding," Jack said. "I can do it from anywhere in the ship, when it's wired up to this or his sonic."

"I'll sonic, you shoot," the Doctor instructed. "Same as old times."

"Which leaves me to fly the TARDIS in," Clara pointed out. "And you know how well that would go. No, I'll have to go with Jack."

"Absolutely no way, out of the question," the Doctor crossed his arms. "Okay, fine but Jack does all the shooting. You hide behind him and if he dies, hide behind his corpse until he gets back up, which should only take a few seconds. Take this," he handed her the sonic. "Jack can talk you through it. Jack, if anything happens to her…"

"I know, I know, you'll throw me into a supernova or something, I got it. She'll be fine with me Doctor, you know that. So are we going to break into the Black Archive to get that vortex manipulator back or what?"

"We don't have to," the Doctor grinned proudly and nodded at Clara. "Clara acquired it a few months ago. It's on board the TARDIS. And I'm sure there'll be some old anti-Dalek weapons around somewhere. I never clean up," he explained as Clara shot him a look. "Clara, you don't have to do this. I could never ask you to do this."

"Doctor, we've been over this. I can manage."

* * *

Clinging awkwardly to Jack's arm, Clara took a deep breath as the vortex manipulator whirred into life and they appeared on board the Dalek ship. They hid from sight around a corner, but could see two Daleks just around it, monitoring some screens. They were at an L-junction, and the corridor the Daleks were down had no door at the end, so the Daleks could only come in from directly behind their current position.

"That right there," Jack pointed to behind one of the Daleks. "That's the access panel. You can open it with the sonic. Once I've shot these two, the Daleks will be alerted but they can only come from where we are now. So I'll shoot and talk you through taking down the shields. Then the TARDIS will materialise onto us and we'll be safe. Understood?"

Clara nodded, but she was shaking slightly. She hadn't realised quite how terrifying this would be. Jack put a hand on her arm and smiled warmly. He then stood up and whipped round the corner, blasting the first Dalek to smithereens with his gun.

"Intruders detected, exterminate!" screeched the second but the time it had wheeled round to fire, Jack had already blasted it. Clara scrambled to her feet and nervously followed Jack around the corner. Jack nodded at her as he examined the screens and she soniced the panel, so it opened. Clara shoved the sonic inside and Jack turned around to look, thoroughly confused by what he saw inside the panel.

"But that's impossible," he muttered, as the sound of Daleks filled the room.

"What is?" Clara yelled, panicked. "What do I do?"

"Nothing, the shield's already down," Jack muttered. "Doctor! Get in here now!" he shouted into the device and Clara hit the floor, trying hard not let her fear get the best of her as four Daleks rounded on Jack.

"Exterminate!"

Jack got a couple of shots off, taking two of the Daleks with him before they shot back and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. The Daleks converged on Clara. She could just about hear the faint whining of the TARDIS and wouldn't let the Daleks see her cry. The Doctor was coming. Her Doctor. He'd save her.

"Exterminate!"

Clara heard the TARDIS but it was too late. She saw the blue ray leave the Dalek, she felt it crash into her chest. She plummeted backwards, a scream escaping her lips as she endured a second or so of unbearable agony, pain beyond anything she could have imagined. And then, only darkness…


	8. Chapter 8: Exterminated

*** Okay, so here we are with that cliffhanger resolution. I'd be lying if I said I was completely happy with this chapter but I like to think I translated the way it meant in my head adequately. The Daleks have angered the Doctor. Prepare for the Oncoming Storm. Thanks to my readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters. Without you, it wouldn't be the story it is. Enjoy peeps. TPD ***

* * *

Jack woke with a gasp and looked round. He could hear the TARDIS, see it materialising around them. Then, the Dalek shot Clara. He could see her flail and die, hear her final, agonised scream and as the TARDIS finished materialising and Jack was lying in the console room, he looked up and saw that the Doctor had both heard and seen exactly what he had seen. He looked broken. Utterly and completely broken. Like someone had stomped on both of his hearts. Jack scrambled to his feet, running towards Clara, desperate to see if he could still save her. For the Doctor.

"Don't touch her!" the Doctor yelled, in a voice Jack had never heard before from this incarnation. Anger. Beyond anger. And pain, broken and severe pain. And hatred, a hatred that the Doctor reserved for the Daleks. And now they had taken something else from him. As if they hadn't taken enough, they'd now taken the love of his life. Well, this life at any rate. But there was something else in the Doctor's voice. And that was what made Jack stop. If it had just been the anger, the hatred, the pain, he probably would have checked Clara's pulse and confirmed the Doctor's worst nightmare had in fact happened. But the Doctor sounded determined. There was a single-minded determination in his voice. And something else. Almost a confidence.

"Doctor," Jack implored him. "We might still be able to save her!"

"We can save her," the Doctor said, this time his voice level, but more dangerous than anything Jack had ever heard. "We will save her. As long as you don't check her pulse. Time is relative. But if you check her pulse and there isn't one, then time is fixed."

"Doctor, you can't cross your own timeline!" Jack told him, trying to careful about the way he said it.

"Not unless I've already done it," the Doctor told him. Jack looked confused. "You said that the shields were already down when you arrived?"

"Yes but…" Jack cottoned on. "You want me to go back in there?"

"Twenty minutes earlier than last time," the Doctor told him. "You've got ten minutes Jack. Save her. Save Clara. My Clara. Get. Those. Shields. Down."

"Yes sir!" Jack nodded and thumbed repeatedly at the manipulator, until he vanished. The Doctor dared not look at Clara. This was his only chance. He couldn't let her down.

* * *

Jack found himself in another corridor, with Daleks on all sides. With a single-minded determination, Jack blasted and blasted, whipping and weaving around the shots, managing to dodge getting hit as he finished off the half a dozen Daleks in the room. He had no idea where he was, so looked around for an access panel. Any access panel. There was none and only one door out the room. Jack examined the room quickly. There was a lot of machinery that he didn't understand and what looked like cloning tubes. He examined them more closely. This was some kind of Dalek laboratory, probably cooking up more Daleks. The door shot open and Jack fired on instinct, using what was left of the charred Dalek to keep the door open as he slipped through. Jack thought of the look on the Doctor's face when Clara had been shot. He could not let him down. Eight minutes and counting.

"Exterminate!" a Dalek screeched and Jack fired again, marvelling at the efficiency of the gun that the Doctor had produced from within the bowels of the TARDIS. He'd killed a good dozen Daleks including the ones he would kill in approximately fifteen minutes but had already killed with the gun. And it wasn't even flinching. Until it did. The next Dalek was its last, as it failed miserably and Jack was exterminated. That hurt every time. He liked to pretend he was fine, but death was a truly horrific experience. Death through extermination was his least favourite way to die. Probably because it was the first way he'd died, such a very long time ago. He'd probably forgotten half the times he'd died. But he'd never forget that first one. Before Rose brought him back. He could never repay her for that. But he could bring back Clara. Maybe that would pay back some of the debt he owed the Doctor. Owed the universe.

Jack awoke, surrounded by four Daleks, who were examining him. He pulled the pin of the EMP and rolled, letting the pulse do its work as it incapacitated them. It was remarkable how almost every weapon in the universe was ineffective against the Daleks and the Doctor seemingly had a treasure trove of Anti-Dalek weaponry. He's fought them a lot, Jack reminded himself. He doesn't like to admit it, but he has. Jack strolled past the Daleks, pulling out his side arm. It wouldn't be as effective, but there had to be an access panel nearby. Five minutes.

Two Daleks, two precious minutes and a few corners later, he found what he was after: an access panel. Jack bent down and plugged the vortex manipulator into it, desperately thumbing keys as he dismantled the security systems.

"Exterminate the intruder!" came another shrill cry and Jack turned, firing on instinct. He got off a handful of shots to the head before the Dalek fired. Luckily, it missed and Jack finished it off with a few more blasts. He dropped the now useless side arm. He'd run out of bullets, time and options. He pressed the last few keys and heard the TARDIS materialise around him. He breathed a sigh of relief and grinned at the Doctor, who was still looking deadly serious. He threw Jack another gun, which Jack caught gratefully. The Doctor had his sonic in one hand and a necklace in the other.

"What's that?" Jack asked curiously.

"Motivation," the Doctor replied in a steely voice. "Not that I need it."

They had exactly nine minutes and twelve seconds to reach the command room and find a way to save Clara. Jack had no idea what the Doctor was planning or how he was going to do it, but he was stunned by the ferocity of the Time Lord as they left the TARDIS, Jack shooting every Dalek in sight, the Doctor behind him sonicing various panels, slamming doors on Daleks, running electric currents through passages, sending sonic waves through the ship's corridors to stun them. He'd never seen the Doctor like this. Six minutes. They reached the command room. Sure enough, there were a good fifty Daleks in there. Jack started to fire but the Doctor jumped past him, ramming his sonic into the nearest console. The shockwaves flooded the room, knocking Jack of his feet. The Daleks screamed in pain and the Doctor laughed deliriously.

"Hello there Daleks," he crowed, as the shockwave abided. The Daleks couldn't move.

"Identify yourself!" screamed one, desperately moving its eyestalk, the only functioning part of it. "Identify."

"Doctor, that shockwave won't last more than thirty seconds," Jack yelled, as he raced over to the console, I hope you have a plan, because we have about five minutes."

"Five minutes, thirteen seconds. But we won't need them," the Doctor informed Jack. "I have a plan. You want an identification? I'm the Oncoming Storm. But, more significantly, I'm the Predator of the Daleks."

"We are the supreme beings!" a cluster of Daleks shrieked. "We have no Predator!"

"You do now," the Doctor said, sending a chill now Jack's spine. First things first, let's stop you transmitting. I mean I've been blocking your signals since before I landed, but let's just make sure I don't have to anymore. Now, in case your friends back at High Command get interested, I'll just give them some general bones to gnaw one. Let the Daleks on the ship know all is clear, so they'll not be aware when you and Clara land," he informed Jack. "Better keep the timelines in check. Now, Jack, if you shoot this area here," he indicated. "It's the door control." Jack obliged. "Oh yes, you lot are waking up," he muttered, as the Daleks started to move, the majority of them shrieking about extermination at this point. The Doctor nonchalantly soniced the console again and the resulting wave paralysed them all over again. "Four minutes forty seven," he muttered to himself. "I was rather hoping for a more impressive finish time, something like nine seconds, but it can't be helped. Ah well, let's meddle with those memory banks, shall we?"

"Doctor, how can you do that?" Jack asked him, as the Doctor fiddled about.

"Little trick I picked up in the Dalek Asylum, a lovely girl called Oswin showed me. Anyway, no mention of the Doctor. I might leave the Predator and Oncoming Storm bits in, weave them into the Dalek legends. Makes me seem all impressive. Now, this is a trick I picked up from Donna Noble," he looked sad all of a sudden. "It's amazing how dangerous and intelligent I am when someone I love is in danger," he yelled, more to himself than anyone else. Right Jack, I'm going to localise the power feeds to this room and set all the Daleks in it to self-destruct. Four minutes twenty two."

"I thought you locked the doors, how're we going to get out?" Jack yelled as the Doctor finished off playing and strolled over to him. The Doctor grabbed the vortex manipulator on Jack's wrist.

"Boom," the Doctor said, without a hint of a smile as they appeared on the other side of the blast doors and there was a huge explosion behind him, the shrieking of exploding Daleks the only sound they could hear. Jack was silent, in awe of the Doctor. "Shoot them would you?" the Doctor asked him and Jack nodded, blasting the two Daleks that were racing towards them. "Excellent, now we need to hook the TARDIS up to the Dalek data core before we leave. Not sure why we needed her in the first place anymore but never mind, it can't hurt. Luckily, they store their data core at the heart of the ship. You clear a path, I'll whirl behind you. Three minutes thirty nine."

Jack's jaw dropped but he obliged, firing hard at any Daleks that joined them as the Doctor guided him from the TARDIS. As Jack finished clearing the data core room, the Doctor rematerialized, a smile now on his face, grim but nevertheless a smile. He looked more menacing than ever. The Doctor ran out the TARDIS, cables in arms. "Forty five seconds," he yelled to Jack. "Get on-board. And don't touch Clara."

Jack nodded and ran into the TARDIS, where Clara was still lying, motionless. It took everything Jack had not to rush to her side but he trusted the Doctor, who followed Jack a few seconds later, slamming a few levers on the console and sonicing the cables. He then ran back out and grabbed the cables, throwing them back into the TARDIS.

"Five," he counted. "Four. Three. Two…" The TARDIS dematerialised. "One," the Doctor finished. "Right, I've just picked you guys up, which means the Dalek ship will explode in ten seconds. And Clara will wake up in fifteen."

Jack shot the Doctor a look of pure amazement. What the Time Lord had achieved was unbelievable, he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"The cables sent a stream of data into the data core. It overloaded, the entire ship went caput. Bang, explodey-wodey. I decided the stealth approach wasn't what I wanted. I left the Daleks a message. The Predator is coming for them. Dalek High Command will be losing their eyestalks over this. And, I displaced the source of the message, so they'll think the ship was in the deep space when it exploded, not near this Solar System. And Clara! There you are!"

And Jack turned, following the Doctor as he bounded over to the dead girl lying on his TARDIS floor as if only just remembering she was there, despite the fact that he had clearly been avoiding looking in her general direction. Jack' eyes bulged as Clara Oswald, who he had watched be exterminated, woke up.

* * *

Clara's head was splitting. She glanced at her surroundings and saw that was she was on-board the TARDIS. She had died. She was convinced she had died. She caught sight of Jack and sent him a weak smile and then she felt a kiss on her forehead. Her Doctor. He had never looked more relieved to see her in all the time she'd known him, except perhaps possibly in Trenzalore. But she sensed their bond was deeper now. He held her, his face bright and tears of his splashed onto her.

"Doctor," she wheezed, finding her voice weak. "You're crying on me." She looked up at him, shock coming to her as she thought more about her final moments. "Was I an echo?" she asked, a horrible thought entering her mind. "I mean, I was exterminated. Was that not me?"

"No," the Doctor reassured her with a warm smile. "No that was you. You were exterminated." His voice sounded light and cheerful, like being exterminated was no big deal. "And then I un-exterminated you."

"How?" Clara choked, her own tears welling up now.

"Because you're my impossible girl," he informed her, as if this explained everything. "And I love you more than anything. So I saved you. And such love makes men do terrible things. Like kill a lot of Daleks. And sort of cross his own timeline. Just a little bit. Because time is relative," he reassured her as her eyes widened. "I wasn't going to let them kill my Clara now, was I? I just popped back twenty minutes, with a bit of help from Jack and hacked into the Dalek weapons systems and set them to stun rather than kill. You're welcome by the way. I didn't have to kill them all. I just did that because I lost my temper," he added, a foul note entering his voice.

Clara threw herself into him, filling every inch of him she could find with her own body. Her lips enveloped his fiercely and he responded, his tongue dancing with hers, his hands turning her body to jelly. Jack cleared his throat and the Doctor dropped Clara. Literally. She hit the floor with a crash and growled at him as Jack spluttered with laughter and the Doctor raced to pick Clara up. She was too weak to stand, so he scooped her up into his arms.

"Take this," he told her, turning to the console and fumbling for a moment before handing her a pill. "Go to sleep. And when you wake, everything will be okay."

Clara nodded and swallowed the pill. She had just enough time to thank him and hear him wish her a goodnight, and then she slipped peacefully into the darkness.

* * *

Clara found herself waking in her own bed. The soft duvet around her was comforting, but not half as comforting as the hot breath on her neck, the arm wrapped around her waist lovingly, and the other wrapped in her hair. She could feel his hearts beat against her back, something she had gotten so used to, and she almost found herself surprised when her only heart only beat in one place. He nuzzled her in his sleep; he did that sometimes, plunging his nose onto the back of her neck and she moaned despite herself. She could lay there forever, with him, her Doctor beside her. She'd never have to do anything else for the rest of her life. Except she needed to pee. Badly. So badly she thought her bladder would explode. Cursing, she extracted herself from the Doctor's grasp and went to pee. When she returned, he had rolled over and was hogging the duvet. She snorted with laughter. He always did this. Whenever he wasn't fondling her, it was the duvet that got his attention. She shook him awake and he leapt up, hands raring for battle. He grinned sheepishly at Clara and pulled her into a long hug.

"How're you feeling?" he asked her nervously.

"Honestly Doctor," she replied. "I've never been happier."


	9. Chapter 9: The Doctor, My Boyfriend

***Hey guys, Chapter 9 is here. I'll try and update earlier tomorrow, I keep forgetting. I'm nearly finished and I have about half an ending plan, I'm working on it. Anyway, in this chapter, the Doctor and Clara prepare to introduce him to her friends. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I'm enjoying writing and as ever, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited. TPD***

* * *

For a few days after the Dalek incident, the Doctor wouldn't let Clara out of his sight. They had the week off of school and they spent the entire time in Clara's apartment. The Doctor refused to leave Clara alone for more than a minute. They hadn't spoken about her being exterminated, but it hung over them, a grotesque elephant in the room at all times. The Doctor was tiptoeing around her and she knew it, but there was nothing to be done about it. As the time came for them to go back to school, Clara found he was just as bad. Every couple of hours, he'd pop into her classroom to make sure she hadn't been abducted. When they finished work, they would go back to the apartment rather than the TARDIS. The old girl hadn't been on a run out since the Daleks and Clara sensed she wasn't going to any time soon either. Jack popped round every now and then to check that they were both doing alright and he was shooting Clara sympathetic looks. It was driving her insane. Two weeks after the Dalek incident, she finally decided to corner the Doctor after he asked if she wanted him to join her when she went to go and buy some food from the local supermarket.

"Doctor," she snapped, losing her temper as he asked for what seemed like the fourth time. "I'm a grown adult, I'm perfectly capable of picking up some food and seeing as all you really want is fish fingers and custard and Jammy Dodgers and are otherwise completely fine with whatever I buy as long as it isn't apples, I really don't see any need for you to come." She softened. "Doctor, I'm fine, really. I know you're worried I'll get hit by a bus or something on the way but honestly, I don't need you to look after me."

"But I have to," he told her weakly. "Clara, I should have lost you on that Dalek ship. And it would have ripped me apart. I can't risk losing you again, however it happens. And if that means I have to spend every waking second guarding you from muggers and cars and Daleks, then that is what I will do."

"Doctor," Clara smiled at his dedication, as irritating as it was. "You're suffocating me." She'd meant it to come out better than that and the look on his face said it all. "I love you Chin-Boy but I can't spend every second being guarded. I need time alone, to go shopping or to teach or just to go out and see friends. And I don't want to keep you trapped here."

"I'm not trapped here," he lied. "I just want to spend more time in your life, without disrupting it."

"That's a lie," Clara pointed out with a chuckle. "You want nothing more than to jump into that TARDIS and fly me away to God knows where. It's killing you not to be able to. But you're terrified that we'll land in a war zone or get attacked or poisoned by crazy aliens. You want to show me the stars. But you're scared of what the stars will do to me."

He hung his head in resignation. "The stars mean nothing without you beside me to see them," he informed her. "But you're right, I have been overly protective. But in my defence, you were shot by a Dalek. Nobody survives that. Except you, my impossible girl. My Clara."

He hugged her tightly and she kissed him as the hug broke. She giggled as he turned his attention to her jumper, wrestling it off her back and Clara glanced at her watch and swore.

"As much as I would love nothing more Doctor," she giggled as he nibbled at her neck. "I have to get to the shop before it closes in an hour and we have no food. And don't even suggest what I think you're about to suggest. We can't just hop in the TARDIS every time an everyday problem arises. We'll get intolerably lazy. I'll be back soon, I promise."

The Doctor grunted his approval and she kissed him again passionately as she slipped out of his arms. The shop was only a short walk away and she liked the mid-November air, so she didn't bother with the bike that the Doctor had given her as a present when they'd escaped his time stream. She personally thought it was an apology but she paid it no mind, the Doctor was always bringing her lavish gifts from far away planets that were romantic and alien in equal measure. Clara was so lost in her thoughts, that she didn't see Jenna until the two girls were almost level and Jenna squealed, pulling Clara into a huge hug. Clara grinned and responded. Jenna was an old friend, but since the Doctor had pitched himself into Clara's life, she'd not spent much time with Jenna. Clara clocked the engagement ring on her finger and her eyes bulged.

"Look at the size of that rock!" Clara gasped, as Jenna let her go. "Did Simon finally pluck up the courage to make an honest woman of you?"

"Yes I know!" Jenna was beaming. "It's incredible isn't it? I was going to save the announcement until your birthday do on Saturday, when all the girls are together. Who else is coming?"

"Karen, Billie, Catherine," Clara ticked them off in her head. "Alex, my friend Tom from work and…" she paused at this and Jenna's head shifted. "My boyfriend," Clara conceded eventually. She hadn't said anything to the Doctor but it seemed stupid not to invite him. "He's a teacher like me, but that's not how we met," Clara gushed as Jenna smirked. "He's the most amazing man I've ever met, I can't wait for you to meet him."

"I'm excited," Jenna replied. "How come none of us have heard of this boyfriend? Where have you been hiding him? How long have the two of you been together?"

"Well I've known him a while now," Clara answered as honestly as she could without including the time travel bits. "But it's only been a month or two since we started dating. I've been so wrapped up in school and him that it never seemed like the right time to bring it up. But everyone's going to meet him this weekend, so it'll be great."

Clara realised what she'd just said and went pale. Jenna didn't miss a trick. Her friend smirked knowingly and put an arm on Clara's shoulder.

"Nervous?" she teased. "It's okay, most blokes are rubbish at doing the girly meet and greet, I'm sure he won't embarrass himself too much."

That wasn't what Clara was worried about as such. It was more that the Doctor would slip up or pull some extravagant stunt that would make a mess of things. She trusted him more than anything, but she wasn't entirely sure she could trust him to meet her friends. Still, there was nothing to be done now.

"He's just a little different," Clara conceded. "Brilliant mind, absolute genius. But he says odd things and does odd things. I mean he treats me like a princess and he understands me better than anyone. And I understand him, for the most part. But he's not the sort of guy you want to meet your friends," she chuckled.

"Well I'm sure you'll whip him into shape before Saturday," Jenna giggled. "Anyway Clara, it's been amazing to catch up, but I'm guessing you've got to get to the shop before it closes and Simon is cooking tonight, so I'd better be getting back. We're at the Frog and Potters on Saturday at 8pm right?"

"Yep, that's the one," Clara informed her, nerves suddenly wracking her like never before. "I'll see you there!"

Jenna nodded appreciatively and waved as she and Clara headed in their opposite directions. Clara felt a tiny bit ill as she walked but reminded herself that the Doctor loved her more than anything and would do whatever he needed to in order to make her birthday special. And, if she was being honest with herself, that was exactly what she was worried about…

* * *

"Clara?" the Doctor called as she stumbled in the door, shopping in hand. "I thought I'd make you something to apologise for being so overprotective recently!" he ran up, pink apron on and took the majority of the food off her. She smiled wearily, appreciative of his efforts. He grinned like a maniac as she slumped down on the sofa, and he brought her a blanket for her to wrap around herself. It reminded Clara why she loved the Doctor, all he thought about was her. They could be staring down a million Cybermen and his first thought would be to whether she was okay, nothing else. She could see how much the domestic life had been driving him insane in recent weeks, but he had put himself through it in case there was even the slightest chance of her being hurt.

"Tada," the Doctor grinned and Clara looked up to see a perfect soufflé on a tray. He placed it in front of her and tentatively Clara bit into it. Her mouth watered and she could feel tears welling up inside her at the taste of it. It was the soufflé. The soufflé she'd been trying to make as long as she could remember. This was it. Her mum's soufflé. Down to last detail. She looked up at him, a teary smile stretching across her face. She leapt up and kissed him and he kissed her back, the flail no longer his instant flex. She hadn't noticed that change. She almost missed the flail, but the more confident edge the Doctor had brought to their passion was somewhat exciting to deal with in the bedroom. After a moment, he broke off from her and smiled, his eyes full of care. "I didn't make that for nothing," he teased. "Eat up."

Clara flopped back onto the sofa and indicated for him to join her. He slipped in alongside her and threw his arm around her almost lazily. She dug her spoon and offered him some. He politely refused and she narrowed her eyes at him, so he opened his mouth obediently and she slipped in the soufflé. He enjoyed it almost as much as her, she could tell, but he wanted her to have the soufflé for herself. He didn't understand that in some cases, you don't want to have the most beautiful things all to yourself. Then, Clara realised who she was talking about and looked at him. This was the Doctor. He shared beautiful things for a living. As Clara finished the soufflé, she knew she had to broach the subject of the weekend.

"Doctor," she started cautiously. "I've kind of made arrangements for Saturday, seeing as it's…you know?"

"Your birthday?" he replied casually. "Yes I noticed. Your friend Tom informed me there was a shindig of sorts. I thought I'd take you out during the day and drop you off in time to spend time with your friends. I can't be entirely selfish on your birthday after all. Will Dave be making an appearance? If so, I know a great little planet where I can hide out until it's safe to reappear. Or I can just stay in the TARDIS if you prefer, I don't want to mess up the time lines. I've been very careful to leave the temporal engines off." He smiled warmly, and Clara got the sense he was desperate to please her.

"No Doctor," she sighed and took a deep breath. "I was kind of hoping you'd meet my friends. Like properly meet them. My dad won't be around, but I was really hoping you'd meet him to. At some point. Soon. Maybe. I want them all to meet my boyfriend."

"Oh." The Doctor had gone pale and had started fidgeting with his bow tie. "I mean I'd love to, Clara. But aren't you worried about what they'll think of me?"

"Just be yourself," Clara smiled. "Not the you that spouts alien garbage but be interested. Show them you care about me. If they see how much we mean to each other then nothing you do is going to put them off. And besides, I love you. That's what matters."

"I love you too," the Doctor replied. "I just don't know what I'd say. How I'd act. I really don't want to screw this up for you Clara. I mean, they're your friends and I'm desperate not to be all…me."

Clara wrapped her arms around the Doctor and pulled him in close to her. She rested her head on his shoulder and kissed his neck gently, causing him to blush.

"Doctor," she said softly, almost whispering in his ear. "You are the most important person in my life. And you are amazing. I mean you're insane and alien and all that, but you have to understand that I find that endearing and loveable. I'd rather you were yourself and screwed it up than felt like you couldn't be comfortable around me. Because I love you for you. Bow tie, warts and all."

"Warts?" the Doctor looked confused and leapt to his feet. "I have warts? Clara why didn't you say something earlier? I need to take a trip to Amalgomase V and get myself some anti-wart cream before…"

The Doctor turned and realised Clara had exploded with laughter on the sofa. She lay there, shaking, desperately trying to stop laughing. He didn't understand the joke until he caught sight of his reflection. He was, in fact, not covered in warts. He pulled a face. It was probably another stupid earth saying. Last week, he had spent a good few hours trying to establish whether or not there was a chip on the shoulder of one of the children in his class until Clara had pointed out it was just a saying. He glared as imposingly as he could at Clara, who was still in fits of laughter and unable to sit up. The Doctor straightened his bow tie and leant over her, tickling her relentlessly. Clara squealed in between laughs and cried for mercy.

"Please…stop…I can't…breathe!" she laughed, until the Doctor finally relented and she managed to regain her breath. He was still sat on top of her, her face only a few inches from his. "Hi," she whispered.

"Hello Clara," he replied, his voice sending a shiver down her spine. She wanted nothing more than to take him there on the sofa. The soufflé was done, what was stopping her? Clara never found out what was stopping her as it became abundantly clear that nothing was stopping him. His lips met hers, softly at first, barely a tickle. Then again, still softly but longer. Then, they crashed together, her leaning up to meet him, a ferocity to the kiss now as he bit her lip hard and she gasped in pain, but loving every second. She responded by yanking his hair and his own hands went to work down her top. She grinned breathlessly as their kiss intensified and she rolled him so she was on top, pulling her top over her head and starting on his belt. His own hands had found her waist and were moving south.

"Down boy," she teased, barely able to control herself as he moved in for the kill. "I said no," she snapped playfully, slapping his hands away. She pinned him now, her own hands keeping the Doctor's pinned by his side, as they kissed furiously and she rubbed herself against him in a grinding fashion. He gasped as she removed his trousers and now that his hands were free, he pulled hers away. Clara giggled but playfully swatted him away. Then, there was a knock at the door. Clara slipped and fell, tumbling off the Doctor and the sofa. She scrambled to her feet, desperately throwing her top back on and praying that she didn't look too disgruntled. She smoothed down her hair as much as she could. The Doctor flounced for his trousers as Clara went to the door, not expecting it to be anyone she couldn't shoo away.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, shock in her voice and the Doctor could practically hear her blush. He hopped into his trousers as he stumbled after Clara, pulling them up as he entered the corridor. When he saw who was at the door, the Doctor's face went as red as Clara's. "Hi dad."

"Hello Clara," Dave Oswald had an eyebrow raised. "I was in London for a meeting, thought I'd come to wish you a happy birthday. I know it's not for a few days but I was hoping to stay the night so we could catch up. But it seems, you have…company?"

"Ah yes. Company. _Pull your trousers up!_" she hissed to the Doctor, who hadn't had to deal with Clara's daddy moods before. She normally was so calm about anything, but the presence of her father had completely thrown her. He'd rarely seen her so flustered. "Daddy," Clara started, in a syrupy sweet voice. Oh boy, this was going to be brutal. "This is the Doctor. He's my…uh…"

"Kissing partner!" The Doctor intervened with a grin. Clara shot him a look. "No sorry, gentleman friend?" Clara looked like she'd rather he had let the Dalek kill her. "Companion?" Slightly better. "Boyfriend?" the Doctor tried finally. "Yes, that's the one?" Clara at least now looked less murderous. Dave on the other hand…his eyebrows had hit the ceiling. "Ohh that's where Clara gets the eyebrow thing from!" the Doctor grinned, shaking Dave's hand despite the other man's reluctance. Clara had gone white as a sheet.

"Can I get you a cup of tea dad?" she asked in a very high, un-Clara like voice. "Doctor? Kitchen? NOW."

The way she said now made the Doctor think that obeying Clara was probably the wisest course of action, so he shot Dave a warm and goofy smile as Clara guided her father onto a sofa and dragged the Doctor into the kitchen. Clara thumbed the kettle on and then paced, biting her lip furiously. The Doctor put a hand on her cheek which earned him a look but she didn't throw him off. He kissed her forehead as she sighed deeply.

"Look Doctor, I know I said all that crap about being yourself, and it doesn't matter if my friends like you. But this is my dad. And he's going to hate you. So you'd better brace yourself and prepare for damage limitation. Seriously," she said with a deadly look on her face that wiped the smile off the Doctor's. "I mean it. He's caught us in a compromising position, there's no going back from that. I remember once, when I was 17, he caught me in bed with Ryan Bernstein and called the boy's parents. Ryan was so embarrassed he never came over again."

"Well," the Doctor chuckled. "It's a good thing he can't call my parents isn't it?"

Clara giggled despite herself and as the kettle finished, she finished making her dad his tea, while the Doctor busied himself making a plate of Jammy Dodgers. Clara smiled at that. They re-entered the lounge. Clara's dad had taken off his coat and settled down his travel bag.

"Dave," the Doctor asked him. "May I offer you a Jammy Dodger?"

"That's Mr Oswald to you."

"Dad!" Clara hissed, desperate to keep the peace between them. Clara sat next to her father, with the Doctor in the chair opposite. He had tried to sit on Clara's other side, but the alarmed look on her face and the warning look on Dave's told him it was safer to retreat to a safe distance. "Be nice! He's no Ryan Bernstein."

"No," the Doctor chipped in. "I don't have parents to call!"

"Doctor," Clara was using her irrationally high voice again. "Shut up. Please. Sweetie?"

The pleading tone to her voice shut the Doctor up. He sat in silence, nibbling on a Jammy Dodger like a naughty child waiting for his parents to punish him. Clara was desperate to try and find a way to resolve this without it turning ugly.

"Why don't you head on home, Doctor was it?" Dave snapped. "I'd like to talk to my daughter, if that's alright?"

"I'll just nip back to the TARD-apartment," the Doctor jumped to his feet and hurriedly corrected himself as Clara shot him a life-threatening look and shook her head.

"He's going nowhere," she said forcefully, wilting under a look from her father. "I mean, he's my boyfriend and he basically lives here anyway, so he's staying. I love him dad. Really."

The Doctor tried to look sheepish, as Dave's face softened at the sight of his daughter's own sincere face. He shot the Doctor a look and nodded as if to say the Doctor could sit down. He did as instructed and Dave smiled at Clara, a true fatherly smile.

"So you love him then?" Dave sounded resigned. "I suppose it has been a while since you've been close to anyone. And you are nearly 25; I can't protect you from the world forever. That responsibility lies with you now Doctor."

"Dad," Clara whined as the Doctor saluted. "I don't need the Doctor to protect me!" He coughed something that sounded vaguely like Dalek at this point and she shot him a venomous look. "If anything it's the other way around," she teased. The Doctor spluttered for words before hanging his head in resignation. "We've been together for a while now, a couple of months almost. And he really does treat me like I'm the only person in the world who matters!"

"That's because you are," the Doctor interjected, looking puzzled. Dave smiled at this. "I mean, you're the only person in my world anyway."

Clara breathed a sigh of relief as Dave seemed to relax. It looked as if she was going to get away with this without anyone needing to tissue a bloody nose. And it wouldn't be the Doctor punching her father…


	10. Chapter 10: The Best Birthday

*** Hi there everyone, another day another chapter. This time tomorrow, the story should finally be finished. I'm going with a three part ending, full of cliffhangers and possibly an epilogue. It'll be 26 chapters, maybe 27 depending on how long the epilogue is. I might stick it on the end of 26 or give it a chapter in its own right. The next few days will see me kickstarting an AU Whouffle I'm writing called "Damaged" so keep an eye out for that. This chapter is a shorter one I'm afraid but there's an overload of fluff, and I absolutely adore it myself but I may have overdone it a touch. So I really hope you enjoy it and as ever peeps, thanks for reading and any reviews, follows or favourites are greatly appreciated. Until next time. TPD***

* * *

Clara hadn't expected to find him in bed when they awoke. She'd expected him to be already off, fussing over her, making her breakfast, fetching her flowers from some century in the distant past or chocolate from the distant future. She'd been expecting him to be manic, all of the place, excited. Instead, she woke to him lying next to her, staring at her with that same intensity he always did. Like if he blinked for a second, she'd vanish. Clara did what she did every morning, when she saw that look on his face. She blushed furiously and kissed him on the cheek.

"Morning Chin-Boy!" she giggled.

"Good morning Clara," he replied, kissing her forehead. "Happy birthday."

"Why thank you Doctor," she supressed her fit of giggles for the time being but her smile was wide in anticipation. "What's on the agenda?"

"First thing we need to do," he winked. "Is start the day the way we mean to end it. In this bed, doing something that would make your father throw me out the window."

"Well then," Clara whispered, kissing him deeply and pushing him down onto the bed. "It's a good thing my father isn't here…"

* * *

An hour later, they were on the TARDIS and the Doctor was his usual, brisk self as he hammered levers and switches.

"Breakfast!" he yelled. "I know just the place. Paris. 1856. Best breakfast in the universe I say."

Clara was inclined to agree with him after she'd tried the crumpets. It was the start of a truly magical day. After breakfast, he took her ice-skating on the frozen lakes of Dumfair, a whole galaxy away. He then took her star-gazing across the coral plains of Fratinqua, before they went to lunch. Lunch consisted of fish and chips in Blackpool, 1984. The Doctor was quick to make sure that they ran into Clara's parents and Clara managed to refrain from crying, but punched the Doctor on the arm afterwards. They spent a few hours at the Pleasure Beach, before they went for cocktails on the Moon mid-afternoon. The Doctor laughed as Clara squealed with delight at the zero gravity and then he took her back to Pligh. This time, she shoved him out the TARDIS before followed, and as the thrill of her original sky-diving experience all came rushing back in one fell swoop she remembered how much she loved it.

After Pligh, the Doctor told her their next destination was a surprise, so she closed her eyes and took off her shoes as the Doctor asked. She found herself stumbling, but he guided her onwards, out the TARDIS and she opened her eyes on instruction. Her jaw hit the floor. They were on Gallifrey. The grass was red and soft beneath her bare feet and there were trees, swaying in the gentle breeze, silver leaves glistening under the light of twinned Suns, burning at the heart of Gallifrey's orange sky. There was a city in the distance and there was nobody around but them. The Doctor guided Clara out a few steps as she turned to face him, her face electric.

"How?" she asked, her voice almost breaking. "How did you find it? How are we on Gallifrey?"

The Doctor smiled sadly. "We're not on Gallifrey Clara," he told her quietly. "I didn't find it, at least not yet. This is something far more special than Gallifrey." She shot him a look of pure disbelief. "Well, at this moment it is. What we're seeing are memories. My memories. We're still on board the TARDIS Clara. This…" he paused for dramatic effect. "Clara, this is my bedroom."

Clara gasped. All the time she'd spent travelling on the TARDIS, he'd never talked about his bedroom, only hers. They'd only ever slept together in her room or in one of the spares. She hadn't even realised that he had a bedroom, he never seemed to sleep. I mean she'd assumed he'd had a bed somewhere, but never anything like this. He'd showed her his bedroom. She hugged him fiercely and he grinned.

"1200 years of time and space and I never thought I'd show anyone my bedroom," he chuckled and Clara shot him a look of pure confusion.

"Never?" she whispered. "Not Rose? Or River? Or…"

"Never."

Clara kissed him then, fiercely holding him close to her as her lips wrestled with his. All she could think was how amazing this moment was and how she'd never be able to forget that day. Then he shoved her gently and they tumbled backwards onto the Doctor's bed. She hadn't even seen it there, but as she opened her eyes and looked around, she saw that the room was now plain and black, with stars above her. Real stars, not flimsy stars that parents painted on their children's ceilings. They made love under the stars in the Doctor's bedroom and Clara had never been happier.

* * *

The TARDIS landed and Clara ran towards the door, only for the Doctor to stop her. He shook his head, a playful smile on his face and Clara pulled a face.

"Last stop," he warned her. "As much as I'd love to take you everywhere in the universe today, I've been very time conscious. We've been gone the exact amount of time we've been in the TARDIS. It's now nearly 7pm back home. Go and get changed, but be quick. We have a schedule to keep to." She nodded and skipped off to her bedroom, giggling with anticipation. "And Clara?" She heard him call her and swivelled. "The dress on your bed," he indicated. "Consider it a birthday present."

A few minutes later, Clara stepped out to meet the Doctor, wearing the most gorgeous dress she'd ever worn in her entire life. It was a deep crimson and moulded perfectly to her body in every area. It was unbelievably soft and she couldn't believe how beautiful she felt in it. The Doctor smiled warmly at her, unable to take his eyes off her for a second. He had changed into a new suit, complete with bow tie.

"So where are we going?" she teased. "And which famous designer did you go back in time to steal this dress from? Or forward in time? Is it someone I won't have heard of because they're not born for a few hundred years?"

"Me," the Doctor said simply and Clara furrowed her brow. "I made it," he informed her and her jaw dropped. "A little help from the TARDIS sure but I made this dress for you Clara. I can be quite the seamstress when I need to be."

"Doctor," she whispered. "This is too much. You've taken me to Paris for breakfast, ice-skating, star gazing, to see my mum…You've taken me home, you showed me your bedroom, the Moon, our first date as a couple…and now this? What next? What can you possibly do next? How are you planning on topping this?" she was imploring him, tears falling, her voice breaking. But she was in dreamland. "Doctor, this is the single greatest birthday I've ever had." She snorted with laughter. "Hell, this is the greatest day I've ever had. It's probably the best birthday anyone has had in the history of the universe!"

"That was the point," the Doctor smiled. "My target. What I was aiming for. This Clara Oswald is the greatest birthday of all time. My gift. To you. My Clara. And you want to know what's next? I may have cheated a bit." She raised a tearful eyebrow. "I was a bit rushed for time," he admitted. "About an hour short. So I called all your friends and told them we were meeting at 9 instead of 8. I told them I was taking you to dinner first."

"Oh?" Clara asked, feeling weak and giddy with joy and delirium. "And where are you taking me? Let me guess," she laughed hysterically. "The finest restaurant on Earth in the year 5252? The Savoy Hotel?" He pulled a face at that. "Come on Doctor?"

"Clara Oswald," he whispered, taking her hand. "I am taking you to the finest restaurant in the universe." He opened the door and stepped out of the TARDIS. He slipped out of the alleyway he'd parked in and they rounded a corner. Clara gasped and threw herself at him, another hug in a day that had seen too many for her to count. The Doctor had outdone himself. Again. They were at Fialli's.

Clara had never felt more loved in her entire life as the Doctor sat her down at their table, promising not to set his bow tie on fire this time. Clara giggled at this, managing to regain her composure as they ordered food. The meal was low key and playful and everything she loved about their relationship. Until it came to pudding. The Doctor ordered a bottle of champagne and Clara rolled her eyes. Talk about dramatic. He pulled out a small wrapped present and she watched him curiously as he handed it to her. The waiter brought the champagne and Clara unwrapped her present. It was a box. Curious, she slipped it open. Inside was a necklace. She smiled warmly, tears streaming down her face. The necklace was made of diamonds and at the bottom was a golden locket. Inside were two pictures. One was of Clara's parents on their wedding day. And the other was of them. Her and the Doctor. She couldn't even remember when it was taken, her mind was a blur. The front of the locket was engraved with a C made of rubies. She had never been given a more beautiful gift in her entire life.

"Doctor," she breathed. "This is…"

"Nothing," he promised her. "I picked it up at a lovely little place in Blackpool, 1985."

"No," she whispered. "Doctor no."

"While I was there, I met a lovely man named Dave Oswald," the Doctor chuckled. "Buying an engagement ring for his wife."

"Stop it."

"He helped me pick it out. Told him it was for my girlfriend for her birthday. Told him I was aiming for the best birthday in the history of the universe. He thought I was mad but told me this was a good start."

"Doctor," Clara's voice was firm but she was in floods of tears. "If you've got any more tricks up your sleeve, please reveal them now. I can't take any more of this. You…" she faltered. "I can never live up to this. I can never ever repay you for this. How can anything I can give you in my stupid human life, how can I ever match this? You've given me the universe in a day and my whole universe in a day. You've been more thoughtful, caring and loving than I could possibly be. Nothing I will ever say, ever do, will make you feel the way that I feel right now."

"Oh Clara," he smiled and what little remained of her resolve broke. "My Clara. You couldn't be more wrong. You've made me this happy every day since you stepped back into my life. I thought you were too good to be true, that there was no way that someone who made me so happy, so complete could possibly exist. It wasn't just your echoes that made you impossible, it was your impact on me. Your impact on my life. So when I learned the truth at Trenzalore, it was like a huge burden had been lifted. My Clara. You were real. What you did for me at Trenzalore…you saved my life a million times over, but more than that. You gave me belief and happiness. The real Clara, you. You were not a lie, a trick, or a trap. That was what you truly gave me that day. You gave me you. And you are perfect. I can give you every star in the sky and it won't be enough. Because you gave me you. And nothing I can ever give you or show you will match up to that. Clara Oswald, you are the greatest gift that anyone has ever given me."

Clara hugged him now and cried for longer and harder than before. She had never been happier in her entire life. And all because of the Doctor.

* * *

By the time they left the restaurant and changed (which took a long time as they took the scenic route to the Doctor's bedroom, via the swimming pool, Clara's room and twice in the library, they were running very late indeed, so the Doctor cheated again and jumped back a few hours in the TARDIS to ensure that they made it to the pub on time. Wearing casual clothes, arms linked, they stepped out of the TARDIS and made the five minute walk. Clara had managed to control the unbridled happiness threatening to spill over at any minute but she couldn't wipe the huge smile off her face and she was positively glowing. She was wearing the necklace that he'd bought her and as they entered the pub, she was terrified for an instant that the Doctor had something else to surprise her with planned. But, luckily, there were no more shocks, just Clara's friends waiting for her, insisting that they all buy her drinks, urging her to introduce them to her mysterious and illusive boyfriend. Clara had been nervous about this event the whole day, but she needn't have worried.

"Jenna," Clara was beaming like Jenna had never seen. "This is him. The Doctor. The one I told you about."

"Jenna!" the Doctor embraced her with a hug and air-kissed each cheek. "Clara's told me all about you! Well bits and bobs about you. Snippets really. Nothing too revealing. I think."

Jenna laughed, shooting Clara a smirk.

"You've got yourself an interesting boyfriend here Clara," she noted. "Cute though," she added under her breath and Clara blushed. Jenna then noticed Clara's necklace. "Holy crap!" she exclaimed. "Girls, get over here and take a look at this!"

The girls converged and oohed and awed at Clara's necklace. Poor Clara was caught in the maelstrom as the Doctor and Tom sat on the side-lines awkwardly sipping beer. The Doctor wasn't a fan of beer, he decided. But one of Clara's nice friends, whose name he couldn't remember (maybe it was Karen) had bought it for him and he knew it was important to Clara that they all got along. Billie was the first to join them, eyeing the Doctor suspiciously, but with more than a hint of a smile.

"You have that look in your eyes," she told him and he choked on his beer.

"Sorry what?" he asked, booze dripping from his nose as Billie chuckled.

"The look all guys get," she explained. "The hopelessly in love look that blokes get when they meet someone they can't live without. You can't take your eyes off her. Not for a second. It wouldn't matter what walked through that door or who walked in that door. You're doing it now. You're looking at me when I talk, because it's polite and engaging, but you've always got more than half an eye in Clara's direction and whenever you can, you shoot her the most longing look."

"Well," the Doctor stammered. "She's pretty. Clara. Very pretty. Bit short, bit bossy, never been a fan of the nose…but none of that matters. Because she's perfect. I mean, she's perfect for me."

Billie chuckled. "Take care of her Doctor. She deserves the best. But I think you already know that."


	11. Chapter 11: Field Trip

***Hello peeps. 26 Chapters, final total, I finally have my ending. And it'll break your hearts. For now, here's another chapter to keep you bubbling over. This one involves rubber ducks, a new sonic and a school trip. I hope you enjoy it. As ever, thank you so much for reading, please follow, favourite and review. Many thanks to you all.***

* * *

"Clara?" the Doctor shouted from in the shower. She rolled her eyes at stuck her head in the bathroom, instantly regretting it as the steam worked its way into her hair, frizzing it all over the shop. "I need you!"

"What?" she laughed as she pushed open the bathroom door and stepped inside, slipping off her socks before she did so. "What is it this time? I've taught you how to use the hot water six times already!"

"There's something alien in here, can you get my screwdriver?"

"Alien?" Clara sighed. "What does it look like?"

"It's small and yellow. It looks like a duck. I've never seen anything like it before in my life!"

"That's a rubber duck Doctor," she told him exasperatedly, but with more than a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I bought it to liven up the place; my shower is a bit well…boring."

"Interesting!" the Doctor called loudly. "It appears to be a rubber-based life form. But I can't fully analyse it without the sonic!"

Clara groaned, giving up. She left the Doctor to it and went to straighten her hair for the second time that morning. After about ten minutes, he stumbled out the bathroom, wearing only a towel, a grim expression on his face.

"Clara, that duck creature. I had to destroy it. I wasn't sure what it was capable of, so I had to kill it. I've done a terrible thing."

"You do realise that that was a rubber duck?" Clara said, amused. "Don't you?"

"Of course I do," he replied, his feathers well and truly ruffled as he ran a hand through his hair. "I was just kidding about destroying it, you know that right?" She raised an eyebrow, thoroughly unconvinced. "You'll see; there'll be an identical one there when you get back from your field trip. I promise!"

"Identical one eh?" Clara's lips twitched at the corners. "Well I'm counting on that Chin-Boy. If there's even the slightest difference…" she whirled round, red hot straighteners still in hand and a wicked smile on her face. The Doctor flinched and stepped back, fumbling for his sonic. He'd burned himself on the straighteners a good half a dozen times and was wary of them. "Well, let's just say I'd hate to see you end up like the poor rubber duck," Clara teased, laughing to herself as the Doctor flailed away, grabbing up his clothes and diving out the bedroom.

Clara whistled a tune to herself as she finished getting ready and went to the kitchen, where the Doctor was sitting at the table, looking like a spoilt child who'd been denied his favourite toy. She grabbed a slice of toast and kissed his cheek as she headed for the door. She had to be at school two hours early for the trip and the Doctor had been miserable at the idea of less time with her ever since she'd mentioned it. He'd muttered something about a trip in the TARDIS that had led to her making him swear he wasn't going to try anything stupid like show the kids in the inside of his dangerous, dimension jumping time machine.

"I'll see you back here at seven?" she reminded him and he nodded, blowing her a kiss as she headed out the front door, chuckling as she did so. As she shut the door behind her, she worried about how the Doctor would cope on his own for a day. She brushed those fears off. He had performed admirably at her birthday drinks, connecting well with her friends. It had helped that their first interaction with the Doctor had involved her incredible new necklace, which all the girls cooed over with jealously, muttering darkly how their other halves (those that had them anyway) never bought them anything as nice or thoughtful. Clara slept in the necklace and according the Doctor, she wrapped her hand over it subconsciously in her sleep. She couldn't help it. She was so happy it was unreal.

The day trip was to Madam Tussauds, the waxwork museum. Clara hadn't ever been and was looking forward to it. Probably more than the kids, she reckoned as she was met by a set of grumbling children, all looking tired and annoyed. There were a handful of teachers going and Clara had a group of eight children to look after for the duration of the trip. There were four boys and four girls, all aged thirteen or fourteen. Clara paired them off, ignoring their grumbles as she sent them onto the coach. She sat at the front with Tom, chatting about nonsense. Tom mentioned he had a girlfriend, which Clara was beyond eager to talk about. If it meant that he was no longer interested in her in that way, then that was a bonus for sure.

The coach trip didn't take too long, but parking up and walking to Madam Tussauds took a while on top of that. It was around 10am when they got inside and the plan was to spend a few hours inside, then lunch, then a theatre trip before dinner at an Italian restaurant for the kids. Clara was looking forward to it. They were going to see Othello, one of Clara's favourites. Her only small regret was that the Doctor couldn't join them. There was no fun in seeing famous people knowing that if he was there, he'd have a story to tell about meeting every single one of them. Clara had met a few, she knew that. She hadn't told the Doctor, but she'd made a list of famous people she wanted to meet before their travels ended. She promised herself she'd cross at least another one of the list tonight. They'd not been into the past for a while and she was hungry for adventure.

They were just moving through the sports section, past gangly figures that Clara barely recognised apart from some of the fit rugby players who her dad shouted at occasionally while she stared at their muscles and pretended to act interested, when one of the children tugged at her arm.

"Miss Oswald?" he asked, urgently.

"Yes Henry?" she asked patiently. "What is it?"

"One of the waxworks moved."

Clara's heart was in her mouth. She tried to stop herself from panicking. Waxworks couldn't move; Henry was being silly. Very silly. Or mistaken. He was just a child; there was no possible way…And yet. Clara couldn't quite convince herself. She scolded her own thoughts. Travelling with the Doctor had made her prey to the delusions of teenagers. She was being silly.

"Now Henry," Clara told him firmly. "They're made of wax, they can't possibly move!"

The scream that filled the air told her that she couldn't have been more wrong. She spun on the spot as one of her girls, Hayley, screamed, a life size Johnny Wilkinson approaching her ominously. Clara yelled and ran over, kicking back the figure and dragging Hayley away from the creature. Thoughts slipped past Clara quicker than she could catch them, most of them involving the Doctor but one overwhelming thought kept entering her thoughts. Save the children. She scouted them out, running over and shepherding them all behind her. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…Bugger. Where was Joshua? She saw the small boy, cornered by three of the monsters.

"Doctor?!" Clara yelled desperately. "Where the hell are you?"

She opened her satchel and scrambled around inside, looking for her phone. She found something else, something better. Something she hadn't been expecting to find. A screwdriver. A pink screwdriver, just like the Doctor's. It had a post-it note attached to it: _Just in case x _scribbled in the Doctor's barely legible handwriting. Clara grinned despite the situation. He'd given her a screwdriver. One of his screwdrivers. Maybe he'd made her one. Why did it have to be pink? Joshua's scream dragged her back to reality and she brandished her new sonic, keeping the other children ushered behind her.

"Oi!" Clara yelled. "Waxwork thingys! Come and pick on someone your own size!" There were three of them at this point, which turned from attacking Joshua to move towards Clara. She beckoned them and nodded to small Josh, who scrambled past them and behind Clara.

"What is that miss?" one of the children behind her asked.

"Teacher thing. Very clever, not for kids," she snapped quickly, trying to keep her voice even and her mind clear, desperately scrambling to remember the Doctor's advice. Psychic interface. Just point and think. But what did she think? '_Melt the wax?' _she tried, sonicing desperately but to no avail. The hands of the creatures dropped, revealing some sort of weaponry. '_Disable the weapons!' _Clara tried and this had a better effect. It didn't stop the creatures marching towards her but at least their guns spluttered and failed. She heard a wailing behind her. That was the kids. They were bloody terrified. Come on Clara, think, think. Maybe these things were remote controlled? '_Stop the signal controlling them?'_ Clara tried, sonicing. This worked a treat. The creatures slumped and stopped. But, even as they stopped, more appeared, coming in from all angles and as fast as Clara soniced, more were coming to life. She cursed and backed off further, guiding them into a corner. At that point, her phone rang. Clara answered, desperate for it to be the Doctor.

"Gotcha!"

That was all she heard him say but there was a materialising sound down the phone. No, Clara corrected herself. It wasn't coming from down the phone at all. It was coming from the other room. Sure enough, her saviour came swaggering in, bow tie straight, hair flippy, sonic in hand.

"Oi, you lot!" he yelled as they registered his presence. "You never learn do you? If I remember correctly, which frankly would be a miracle, as it was the start of my third face and frankly hundreds and hundreds of years ago," he winked to Clara. "You tried Madam Tussauds before. You think I'm stupid enough to fall for the same trick twice?" He put his sonic in the air and it whirled. "I had U.N.I.T install Auton signal breakers in the construction. Basically, goodnight. Tell the Consciousness this is his only warning."

The creatures fell apart and the Doctor put away his sonic, running over to Clara and kissing her, before winking at the children, as if to shush them from telling about his naughty act. Clara held up her own sonic.

"Why is this pink?" she demanded. "Because I'm a girl?"

"Oh, oh I see!" the Doctor grumbled. "I come here, save your life, the lives of all the kids, not to mention shutting down the Autons, they're called Autons by the way, living plastic, created by the Nestene Consciousness, soldiers, not the brains. And I give you your own screwdriver, made especially for you, just so you know; the TARDIS nearly threw a fit. And all you care about is that it's pink! It's not even pink!" he finished indignantly. "It's meant to be red."

"It's pink dear."

"Well then, I'll just take it back if you don't want it."

"No!" Clara didn't want to sound too eager but it was too late for that. She kissed him on the cheek before composing herself, aware the children were hanging on their every word and shooting them strange looks. "Thank you," she whispered. "Do you have any more of those memory pills?"

"I've got this," he murmured. "Well kids, how did you like that practical demonstration? New, robotic waxworks! They were designed for you kids to watch sports people doing actual sporty things and the museum just wanted to test them out. So I thought I'd use it to scare Miss Oswald. But, as it turns out, there were some design flaws and they had to be deactivated. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell any of your parents. The museum might get into trouble. Or worse, Miss Oswald might get told off and we can't have that now can we?" There was a chorus of head shakes. "Now I just need a quick word with Miss Oswald. One moment." He dragged her out of earshot of the staring kids. "I'll get Kate to clear this mess up. You take the kids and rendezvous with the other teachers. Don't argue!" he added before she opened her mouth. "I'd let you join me, but someone has to look after the kids and get them home safe. You have a job to do Clara. Back home by seven, I promise."

"What are you going to do?" she asked him as he swivelled and went to head back to the TARDIS. "I mean, you said these things were just the foot soldiers, do you have a plan to take out that leader?"

"Clara," he smiled. "Of course I have a plan. I'll ask him nicely. You know me."

"I do, which is how I know you are in fact lying and don't even have a little bit of a plan. Doctor," she pulled him into a tight hug and he hugged her back, kissing the top of her forehead. "Come back safe."

As he nodded and strolled off to the TARDIS, Clara couldn't help but worry. She hated not being able to go with him. More than anything, she hated knowing that this might be the last time she saw him alive. Her Doctor, at least. He could change. He could regenerate. Even thinking the word made her shudder. She didn't know what she would do if that happened. She didn't want to consider life with a different man. A different Doctor. It was unthinkable. She turned back to the kids. She wasn't sure what was going on, as security rushed in from all sides, soldiers with guns looked her up and down ominously. Luckily, before they started interrogating her in front of the children, Kate Stewart turned up and snapped instructions, telling them to let Clara and the children go on their way. Clara was grateful as Kate shot her a nod and whispered: "Is he dealing with it?" as they passed. Clara replied with a wistful smile and a nod. Once they had the kids outside, the decision was taken to go for an early lunch and then stroll over to the theatre. Somehow, Clara wasn't quite in the mood for Othello anymore.

* * *

"Alright, alright. This is your only warning," the Doctor said, as he stepped out the TARDIS, stared down by a dozen Autons with guns. "You couldn't be covering a transmitter region that big from Earth, so I knew you'd be up here. It's a good thing that Clara's dad called me, or I'd never have worked it out. So, are you going to drop the guns fellas, or am I going to have to kill your boss?" The Autons didn't move. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you," the Doctor grimaced and stepped back inside the TARDIS as they fired. When he stepped out again, he was holding a rubber duck. He winced. He'd been meaning to use it to replace the earlier one, but never mind. He was sure that Clara would understand that the sacrifice was a necessary one. "Last chance!" he yelled, brandishing the rubber duck. "No?" he groaned. Clara was going to kill him. "Geronimo!"

* * *

Clara's nerves were shredded by the time she got home. The long day had been so much longer, knowing that every minute that dragged by, he could be dying. He could already be changing his face or have been captured or he could already be Auton soup. She wasn't sure what an Auton was from his description but maybe they ate Time Lords. She didn't know. Every time she thought of him, she gripped the sonic as tightly as she could, her grip on the device unyielding the entire way through Othello. Tom made small talk at dinner and on the coach home but Clara was completely zoned out. As soon as she could get away, she was on her bike, breaking half a dozen speed limits as she shot home. She parked up and almost slipped as she legged it to the doorstep. 6:58. He had to be home. He had to be home. She put her key in the front door and turned it, stepping into her apartment, breath bated.

"Ah good you're back!"

Clara let out a huge sigh of relief and threw herself into the Doctor's arms. He shot her a sheepish grin and indicated to the kitchen as she kissed him passionately and then stumbled back, shutting the front door and composing herself. She giggled happily as he smiled at her.

"I was just making pasta for us," he said. "Told you I'd make it back alright. I didn't even miss any lessons, got back by the end of break."

"How did you know I was in danger?" Clara asked. The question had been bugging her all day but she hadn't even realised it, so bogged down was she in the prospect of him blowing himself up in some Auton ship.

"The rubber duck," he said proudly. Clara pulled a disbelieving face. "Turns out, the rubber duck was alive because it was picking up corrupted signals from the Nestene. It was supposed to be summoning the troops, but some of the mutant offshoots of the signal were bringing the rubber duck to life. Once I'd isolated the signal, I worked out what was causing it. And once I knew it was the Autons, I figured they'd try another cross-London activation sequence. I was wrong." She shot him a look. "Your dad called, ranting about how his rubber duck was being all strange and stuff, so I realised it was a national signal, which meant a spaceship. I thought you'd left the capital," he admitted. "I couldn't remember where your stupid trip was going." She raised her eyebrow at this. "So I called you to get your location. I was terrified the Autons would get to you first."

"They did," Clara admitted. "Luckily I had this!" she held up the screwdriver. "Otherwise they'd have killed us all before you'd arrived. Thanks Doctor. So, did you replace the rubber duck?" she teased, snaking her arms around his waist and resting against him as he stirred the pasta.

"Actually," he paused. "Funny story. Turns out, the rubber duck was the perfect weapon against the Autons. The replacement duck I bought was still being corrupted by the same signal, so I took it up to the Nestene ship and I threw it into the Consciousness. It corrupted the signals, all the Autons fell apart and the Consciousness ended up corrupting itself. It's brain function overloaded and…"

"The ship exploded?" Clara finished, an amused smile creeping onto her lips. "So that's your excuse for not having bought a new rubber duck? You used it to blow up the waxwork people? As far as lame excuses go, you definitely lose boyfriend points for trying something that feeble." She was teasing him of course, but his smirk seemed to suggest he hadn't told her everything.

"Go and check upstairs," he informed her and she did, running up the stairs and squealing before running back down.

"You got fifty rubber ducks?!" Clara exclaimed.

"They saved the world," the Doctor laughed. "It seemed like the least I could do."


	12. Chapter 12: Christmas With The Doctor

***Okay so I apologise in advance for the cliffhanger. But this is the Christmas chapter and the Doctor and Clara enjoy Christmas together. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as I did. As ever, thanks to my readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters. Two weeks until the end (and a week until 11 regenerates...) TPD***

* * *

Christmas was almost upon them and Clara was so excited. She hadn't been excited for Christmas since she was a kid. When she was younger, she's always loved the holidays, throwing herself downstairs at 7am every Christmas Day to throw open her presents and yell at her parents to hurry up and join her as they trudged down, muttering about whose turn it was to make the coffee. Even when she'd been a teenager, Christmas had been a special time for Clara, her enthusiasm for the holidays seemingly unstoppable. Until her mum died. After that, Clara had struggled to muster any sort of enthusiasm for the Christmas period. Her dad had tried his hardest for a couple of years, but when Clara had turned 18, he gave up. Artie and Angie had managed to restore some of her Christmas spirit, but now that the Doctor was in her life, Clara felt for the first time in a long time like this Christmas was going to be magical. The build-up was in itself fantastic, as the Doctor took her to various snow-capped locations, from mountains to deserts of snow; from hot planets to cold ones. He took her to Victorian England, to spend Christmas with Vastra, Jenny and Strax; he took her to future Christmases and past Christmases. And then, as school ended and they reached the deep bowels of the holiday season, the Doctor really surprised Clara.

"I bumped into Artie the other day in the library," he informed her over breakfast one morning about a week before Christmas. "I invited the Maitlands over for Christmas, I hope that's alright." Clara almost choked on the crumpet she was eating. The Doctor leaned forwards to pat her back but she swallowed. "Is that not okay? I can always go back in the TARDIS and rugby-tackle myself. Possibly. I mean, there's a possibility that doing that would blow a hole in the universe but I'd be willing to try. I'm making a habit of not blowing the universe."

"No Doctor!" Clara spluttered, drinking tea to soothe her throat and regain her lung capacity. "I mean, that's wonderfully thoughtful. You know my Dad and Grandma are coming as well right? Where are we going to put everyone?"

"Well," the Doctor paused. "I could use the TA-"

"No."

"Please Clara," the Doctor tried again. "She's got an infinite amount of bedrooms and the kids already know about the time travel. Your grandma can have our bed, the kids can have the spare room, your dad and Mr Maitland can have the sofas and you and me can pile into the TARDIS."

"No!" Clara giggled. "The Maitlands only live ten minutes away. It'll be good to have them over for Christmas dinner but they'll have to go home. You and I can share a sofa. Whatever Dad says, don't let him let us have the bedroom."

"Fine," the Doctor pouted. "When was the last time you saw Artie? I got the impression he missed you. Either that or he was choking on his chewing gum…No wait he was choking on his chewing gum; I had to give him the Heimlich."

Clara chose to ignore that little anecdote, as imagining Artie choking wasn't on her to do list. "I've not seen the kids for a few months," she mused, slightly upset by the thought. "It'll be good to catch up with them. We could take them somewhere nice after Christmas," she smiled. "As long as you promise that we won't end up in the middle of a bloody Cyber War again. Otherwise Mr Maitland will throw you into a supernova and I'll have to find a new boyfriend with a time machine so whenever I need to pop back to Ancient Greece to top up my tan there's one available." The Doctor pulled a face at this. "I'm kidding Chin-Boy."

"What about Santa's Grotto?" the Doctor grinned. "They can meet Santa!"

"I'm going to assume you're joking and leave it there. If Santa's real he has far better things to do!" Clara scolded. "What about, I dunno a theme park or something? In fact never mind, that went so well last time!" she said sarcastically. "But seriously Doctor, thank you for inviting them. I thought you'd be all, let's sneak out into the TARDIS and shoot off to Jupiter or something."

"Nah, Jupiter's rubbish, just a big ball of gas. Now Mars, Mars is a lot more interesting, especially at Christmas. You'd love Martian Christmas Clara…" he trailed off before taking a sip of tea and smiling warmly at her. "I promise, this Christmas, we'll do things your way. Just you, me, the family, Christmas dinner. Presents under the tree, the whole shebang. We can resume our travels on Boxing Day, when your family is gone."

"Doctor," Clara giggled. "I love you. You know that, but my Dad is staying for a week." His face fell and he started stammering. "I've already promised him. And no, before you ask, we can't sneak off in the TARDIS while he's in the bathroom. And no, we can't take him on a trip to Mars for Martian Christmas and no; we cannot take my grandma to the knitting planet you keep subtly suggesting. She hates knitting. And she's not allowed to know about the TARDIS. But also, she hates knitting."

He grumbled a bit after that, but once they were in the TARDIS, he cheered up a bit. He was using the holidays as an opportunity to take Clara to every single Christmas he could think of. That day, he took her to three: the Martian Christmas he promised her, where they were shot at by Ice Warriors, then he took her to see the birth of Jesus and she was forced to help him deliver the baby while Herod's guards tried to kill them and then finally, a Christmas on a faraway planet known as Lucipus, where they were interrupted by an erupting volcano.

"Sorry, sorry!" the Doctor yelled as he hopped up and down, removing his shoes and wiping ash from his bow tie. "I didn't get my timings quite right!"

"You think?" Clara snapped, clutching her singed hair and smearing volcanic ash from her face. "Another few seconds and I'd have been a barbeque. I think I still look like a barbeque and frankly," she sniffed. "Yep, I do in fact smell like a barbeque. Plus, I'd been growing my hair for six months. And look at it now!"

"It looks no different," the Doctor insisted, but the flinch he had made when Clara pointed it out betrayed him. "Okay, but it's nothing we can't fix. I know a wonderful little hairdresser in 1962…"

"Typical," Clara muttered darkly. "My dad spent half my childhood trying to keep my hair at a manageable length and then finally when I'm allowed to grow it, you pitch up and burn it all off. And to think, I thought the years of awful bobs were beyond me."

"They are," the Doctor insisted. "This will be an exquisite bob, produced by the finest hairdressing stylist in all of history!"

"I hate you sometimes."

* * *

The doorbell rang for the fourth time before Clara finally escaped the shower. The Doctor tried to yank her back as she giggled and stumbled away, wrapping a towel around her before opening the door to Captain Jack Harkness. She beckoned him in as he shot her a flirty look and winked at the Doctor, who came staggering out into the hall after her, wearing a t-shirt and shorts that were very un-Doctory. He did have a bow tie in his hand though. They'd been expecting Jack; he'd left a message on the Doctor's psychic paper, warning them he was coming.

"My dad will be here in a few hours," Clara warned the Doctor as she headed back into the bedroom to change. "So whatever scheme you're pulling, I want you presentable by then. It's December 23rd," she reminded him at his confused face. "Dad's staying until the 29th so behave."

"The missus has spoken," Jack teased as the Doctor rolled his eyes and fumbled with the bow tie. "So, I just came over to say Happy Christmas. And," he lowered his voice. "To drop this off. As requested. This'll knock the old guy out for a good 15 hours. If Clara gets suspicious, I have something for that too. But that'll cost you extra."

"No," the Doctor hissed, grinning despite himself. "I don't want to drug Clara."

Jack shrugged cheekily. "Your loss my friend. You know where I am if you need me. Oh and by the way, U.N.I.T have found the TARDIS again. They've taken her to their Colchester base. It's only a matter of time until they storm the place looking for you."

"They have Clara's personnel files," the Doctor replied. "And I've warned them what will happen if they enter these premises. They wouldn't dare. I made Kate promise. A promise that if she breaks, I will empty the black archive. I didn't say how."

"Okay, well I stole her back for you," Jack grinned and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "Thanks for letting me keep my key."

"Thanks for repeatedly breaking into extremely secure and dangerous locations and stealing back my TARDIS from U.N.I.T," the Doctor grinned. "Find anything good while you were in there? A fez perhaps?"

"Consider it your Christmas present," Jack chuckled and the Doctor jumped to his feet and did a little dance of celebration. "It's on the console. Right, I'd best be off." he stood as Clara re-entered, towelling her short hair fiercely and smiling warmly at Jack. She was wearing a woolly cardigan and a long skirt. The Doctor wondered why she was so covered up, but he suspected it may have something to do with the fact that Dave was arriving. If she was going to be covered up all week, the Doctor suspected he might have sonic something. He'd taken back the sonic he'd given Clara for modifications, as she'd kept chirping on about the pink thing and also the fact that it required a software update. There were certain functions he was neglecting to give Clara and didn't want the automatic updates to accidently give her the ability to blow up doors by accident and the like. She was only human after all.

"Goodbye Jack," Clara smiled and hugged him, ignoring the Doctor's narrowed eyes. "Have a great Christmas. Don't drink too much!"

"You too, you rowdy bastards!" he chuckled, waving them off as he left, whistling a tune as he did so.

"What was that about?" Clara asked, eyebrow raised, arms crossed. Bugger. He was caught. Okay Doctor, he could get out of this without having to lie to her. He couldn't lie to Clara, she was far too good at seeing through his lies for her own good. Or for his own good. It was an irritating trait of hers. Irritating, but one of the reasons he loved her.

"Oh you know," the Doctor shrugged. "U.N.I.T stole the TARDIS again, Jack pinched it back, saved me the trouble. And," he grinned now and Clara smirked. "Jack got me a fez!"

"Okay then, I wish they'd stop doing that." Clara shook her head, smiling and wandered into the kitchen. The Doctor breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Oh and Doctor?" He looked up as she poked her head out of the kitchen door and smiled sickly sweet at him. "If you even think about slipping my dad one of those pills, I'll set fire to all my lingerie and have the TARDIS take us to the planet of the celibates for a month or so. I don't know if there is a planet of the celibates, but you know…"

"Actually," the Doctor replied. "The planet of the celibates is very poorly named. All they seem to do there is participate in orgies with clones of themselves. They're celibate because they only have sex with those that are pure, as in themselves and you really were being rhetorical weren't you? I should shut up shouldn't I?"

"Little bit Chin-Boy, you're on thin ice. Pills?"

The Doctor grumbled a bit more as he went into the kitchen and handed Clara the pot of pills, which she lobbed into the bin. He kissed her cheek and she shot him an amused smirk, her eyes flashing dangerous. He sensed that she still hadn't completely forgiven him for the volcano incident. He didn't know why she was so upset about the whole thing, he'd lost a good bow tie that day, despite his best attempts to make them non-flammable. He'd have to work on that formula when he got a spare minute. Clara breezed past him, humming Silent Night under her breath. It reminded the Doctor about the previous Christmas and he shuddered upon remembering it. His last Christmas in exile. Before he'd met her. Well the echo her. He still remembered that first kiss. It had been breathless, heat of the moment and it had felt very different to what he'd experienced with the real Clara. He'd expected Clara's kisses to be like that of her Victorian echo, so it had been a pleasant surprise when they were so much deeper. As the Doctor thought more about the Clara who had fallen from his cloud in the sky, he didn't realise the real Clara was staring at him.

"Doctor?" she asked concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just thinking about last Christmas," he informed her. "With Clara Oswin Oswald. You, but not you. The other Clara. The one who…"

"Who pulled you out of your slump and sent you on your mission to find me?" Clara smiled. "It's a weird situation. Do you think of her as me?"

It was an odd question, one that the Doctor wasn't prepared for. The more he thought about it, the less sure he was of the answer. The girl had shared a lot in common with Clara, but she had, at the end of the day, just been an echo. The Doctor pondered it for a moment before strolling over to Clara and cupping her cheek with his hand, brushing a lock of hair out of her eye. He kissed Clara's forehead and went to go upstairs to change, before leaning against the bannister and coming up with his answer.

"I think of her as identical to you," he replied. "She's you in every sense. But she's not mine. She's Clara. But she's not my Clara. She's not you. I owe her a lot, but when I think of what she did for me, I remind myself that you made it happen. It might not have been you that was her, but you are responsible for everything she did. And I love you more for that. Knowing that other versions of you are running around with me and putting yourself through that torment, amongst others, just to save me. She was Clara. You are my Clara. And I love you more than anything."

"I can picture those lives," Clara told him, causing him to stop halfway up the stairs. He jumped down and moved over to her, pulling her into a light hug and standing face-to-face with her, intent to listen. "But I don't see them as me. And they're not my memories. It's like…" she paused. "They're a film. Like I watched them die over and over again for you, knowing it's me, but not feeling it. I don't have nightmares. I don't remember. I just see. Like remembering a film you've watched. You can feel for the characters, but they're not you. So…" Clara breathed deeply. "I'm glad you don't consider them me. Because I don't consider them me. Just…"

"They're fragments Clara," the Doctor told her, kissing her forehead again. "Echoes. And you can't remember or feel an echo, you can only hear it. And it's harsh. Because for them, their entire existence was to save me and die. And you have none of the pain of it, but get all of the credit. But that's not your fault, that's mine. If I hadn't extracted you from my time stream, you would have dissolved into more echoes until there was nothing left. I got to you in time, dragged you out. I spared you the agony, as far as I could. Don't feel guilty Clara, be proud."

"I can be both," Clara smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Doctor, for saving me. And for being there. And for giving me Christmas. I love you. My Doctor."

"And I love you. My Clara."

* * *

Dave Oswald arrived a few hours later, bringing with him a huge Christmas tree that he claimed he'd picked up a few minutes down the road, but Clara suspected he'd picked up back in Blackpool. He wasn't entirely trusting of London. Too close to the government. The Doctor helped him bring it in and they put it up in the living room. They decorated it and the Doctor was like a child on Christmas morning. Clara had never seen him so excited as they draped the tree in tinsel and hung baubles from branches. His enthusiasm was infectious and Clara giggled as her dad produced some of the decorations she'd loved most when she was a child and she hung them on the tree. When she was younger, Clara had always placed the fairy on the top of the tree, but she had always been too short so had had to sit on her father's shoulders. She hadn't told the Doctor this, but of course he already knew and before she could say anything, he picked up, kicking and squealing, as Dave handed her the fairy and she placed it on top of the tree. She leaned down to kiss the Doctor and he staggered, the pair of them tumbling backwards onto the sofa in a tangle of limbs. Dave looked stunned but roared with laughter when he realised they were okay as Clara popped up with a fit of giggles and the Doctor leapt to his feet, straightening his bow tie and trying to regain his composure.

"Doctor," Dave said quietly as Clara went to make hot chocolate for the three of them. "I just wanted to say thank you." The Doctor was puzzled and must've looked it because Dave elaborated. "Clara used to love Christmas," he explained. "But when her mum died, she stopped loving it. She went into her shell. It wasn't just Christmas, but life in general. Being with you, she's…she's alive again. And that's all thanks to you."

"To be honest with you Mr Oswald," the Doctor replied. "I was similar. This time last year, I was as miserable as one could be. I thought I was done. Finished. Life seemed not worth it any more. None of it was. I had no family, I'd lost the people closet to me. But then I met Clara," he smiled at the memory. "I think we ended up saving each other, and I've never been happier."

"Please," Dave smiled. "It's not Mr Oswald son. It's Dave. You're a part of our family now."

* * *

The Doctor still remembered the last time he'd spent Christmas with someone. It had been a long time ago, but it was with the Ponds. He'd pitched up on their doorstep, two years after faking his death. They'd saved a place for him at the table for Christmas dinner. They'd had no idea he was coming. They never did. But every year, every Christmas, there it would be. The space for the Doctor. They had leftover food waiting for him and an extra cracker and hat. He even had a stocking hung up over the fireplace. He had never understood the concept of having a family, even back when he'd had a family. He'd been young and grumpy and had never appreciated it. But in that moment, he'd realised. He'd become part of their family. And now, after so long, he was part of a family again. Clara's family. And he loved her. He didn't just love how she made him feel or what she gave him. He didn't just love that he had a family. He loved Clara. More than anything. He would do anything for her.

So when he met her grandmother, he did everything it was possible for him to do to be normal, to be human. And he failed miserably. He couldn't help it, he ended up ranting about how in the future, hip-replacement surgery was a bi-annual routine, like a trip to the dentist. Clara had sat there, failing equally miserably not to laugh while her dad looked on, utterly confused. Clara's grandmother had found his ramblings adorable and announced that he was allowed to be Clara's permanent boyfriend and that she could now start producing great-grandchildren. Clara had blushed crimson and the Doctor had spluttered for a good half a minute before she bailed him out. That night, Clara's father had insisted that the two have their own bedroom and that he would sleep on the sofa and eventually Clara relented, with absolutely zero support from the Doctor who instantly accepted Dave's proposal and her grandmother, who had hooted that if they could produce a great-grandchild that night that would be wonderful.

So when the Doctor woke up next to Clara on Christmas morning, it was in their bed. And he realised, he had stopped referring to it as her bed. He hadn't even realised he'd been doing that. She was wearing his pyjamas; they were covered in little bow ties. He smiled at the thought of it. His Clara. In his pyjamas. He didn't even care that the TARDIS was off-limits. This would be the best Christmas ever. He was about to shake her awake, but she rolled over to face him and her eyes were as alive and bright as his. They shared a childlike grin and Clara leapt out of bed, the Doctor two steps behind her. They tumbled into the lounge, whereby Dave woke with a start, grumbling as the two grown-up five year olds wrestled each other, almost colliding with the tree. They were momentarily joined by Clara's grandmother and the Doctor looked at Clara, pleadingly.

"Can we open the presents now?" he asked over and over.

"Not until the Maitlands get here," she told him. "They won't be long."

No sooner had she finished speaking the words, when the front door crashed open and Angie and Artie flew in, Mr Maitland a few steps behind, a mountain of presents in his hands and a wide smile on all their faces. The rest of that morning was a blur of present opening, laughs and childish behaviour. The Doctor took Clara to one side so they could open their presents from each other uninterrupted. She was scared but exhilarated. She handed him a wrapped up box.

"I thought what can I give the man who already has everything?" she told him, smiling with tears running down her face. "So I had two ideas. This is the first. You'll see the other in a moment."

"Okay," the Doctor grinned and opened the box. Inside, there were two bow ties. One was red and the other was blue. The Doctor's heart broke. They were identical to the ones he'd thrown out when Amy and Rory had… He'd thought that would never be able to wear them again…

"I found them at a little shop down the road," Clara smiled. "The blue one is you and the red one is me. I thought having a pair of bow ties this colour would fit you perfectly. You might need a different colour of jacket though, I think I saw a beige tweed one around the TARDIS somewhere. Are you okay?"

The Doctor had started crying. "Yes," he assured her. "Yes, I'm fine. It's just. They're…I had bow ties like this before. I threw them out. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to wear them again. Or the beige. Too much of the Ponds about them. But now," he promptly removed his bow tie and put the red one on. "They're making a return. And the beige. Because, Clara Oswald, I am the Doctor. And I will not let the past hold me back any longer. But mostly, and this is very important Clara, because bow ties are cool. Here, this is for you."

He had whipped a small box out of one of his pockets and she took it off of him. She unwrapped it cautiously. It was a sonic screwdriver. She shot him a sceptical and tearful smile. It was green.

"I decided," he said slowly. "No holding back. So I binned your sonic." She shot him a look at this. "And rather than give you a limited, rubbish, pink sonic screwdriver, I had the TARDIS copy mine. They're identical in every way. They're tuned into each other. When you have this, no matter how far we are apart, we can always signal each other, always find each other, and let the other know we're okay. If you use this sonic Clara, I'll know where you are instantly and vice versa. They're connected to our hearts, in a way."

She flung herself on him, kissing him deeply. She was about to tell him about her other present, her other surprise, when they were rudely interrupted by Angie, who cleared her throat and the two sprang apart. Angie rolled her eyes.

"There's someone here to see you Doctor," she informed him and he raised an eyebrow. "She has really odd hair."

The Doctor paled. He could feel Clara's grip on his arm turn to a vice and then fall away completely as Clara backed away from him, muttering 'No' repeatedly. The Doctor felt a wave of panic rush over him. Not here, not now. Please. No. And then, from behind Angie, she stepped out. Clara swore in English and the Doctor swore at the exact same moment in Gallifreyan. He hadn't sworn in Gallifreyan since he was a boy.

"Hello sweetie."


	13. Chapter 13: The Cloud

***So peeps, left you on a bit of a cliffhanger there didn't I? This chapter's aptly named The Cloud and it's a lot shorter (sorry) but then the previous chapter is the longest apart from possibly one other. So, River's back in town and that can only spell trouble right? I hope you enjoy this chapter and once more, sorry about the ending. I'm aiming to put up my Whouffle AU on Christmas Day, so keep your eye out for that and follow me if you're interested. As ever, thanks to everyone following and favouriting this story and all of those of who who keep reading and are reviewing, the support has been fantastic and keeps me writing. Next Chapter's up tomorrow, so be back then. Toodle-Pip for now TPD***

* * *

"Get out."

It was the Doctor who reacted quickest. Clara was staring at him, pain and desperation on her face. River's face fell slightly but she chuckled, clearly not understanding the gravity of the Doctor's situation.

"Well now sweetie, that's no way to say hi! This must be your new companion, pretty thing, but then they always are with you. Tut. Tut. Aren't you currently across London somewhere right now with Mummy and Daddy? You bad boy."

"River," he snapped. "Get out now."

"Who's this?" Mr Maitland asked, coming in from the other room, Dave in tow.

"Nobody," the Doctor snapped, the anger in his voice shocking everyone.

"I'm his wife," River announced with a grin and the Doctor spun on the spot to see Clara's heart shatter. Everyone else's jaw dropped.

"Ex-wife!" the Doctor added before anyone said a word.

"That's funny, I don't remember getting the divorce papers," River teased and the Doctor was done. He grabbed her, hauling her by the arm and she went with him, as he guided her out the house and shut the front door in her face. He raced back into the lounge, ignoring everyone as he strode to Clara's side.

"Clara," he whispered. "I didn't know she would come here, I promise. I have no idea how she found me, but she has a habit of doing that. You have to understand, for her, she can just pitch up whenever she wants, she has no concept of my timeline until she gets there. She doesn't know how long it's been for me," he sighed. "She doesn't know I've moved on. I'll get rid of her I promise. Five minutes. I'll be in the TARDIS."

"Five minutes," Clara agreed, wiping away a tear. "Then I'm coming after her myself Chin-Boy."

The Doctor heaved a huge sigh of relief as Clara smiled and he kissed the top of her head. His face was like thunder as he stormed out the house, leaving Clara to deal with her family. Nevertheless, he still envied her, his task was going to be so much harder.

"River!" he yelled as he threw open the TARDIS doors. "What the hell do you think you're playing at?"

"Aw, I'm sorry sweetie," she teased. "Did I embarrass you in front of your new companion? She looked like such a sweet little thing, bless her. No doubt, you never do pick ones that are anything else. Anyway, it's been a few months since we've seen each other and I wanted to check how you were doing." Her voice had turned serious with a touch of bitterness. "I see that my parents are well and truly in your past after all."

"No!" the Doctor yelled, slamming his fist on the console. "You don't get to dictate terms Professor River Song. You may have had a grip on me for the entirety of our relationship and I did love you once upon a time. But that's over now. Done, in the past. I'm not going to let you breeze in and ruin the life I'm building here with Clara. I won't."

"Life?" she snorted. "Clara's a rebound, you'll find another one soon enough you always do. We've been longer periods of time without seeing each other sweetie, you could at least pretend that you're happy to see me."

"No River," he groaned. "It hasn't been a few months. It's been over a century." She froze. "I spent a century, on a cloud in the sky, staying out of the world. I was damaged, broken. And I needed you. And you left me. You never came back. I stopped caring in the end. About everything. About everyone. I never even got to say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye by the end of it. All I wanted was for the world to leave me alone. I'd lost Amy and Rory, you'd gone. None of it made any sense. And then I met Clara. And she saved me. She made me whole again. She built me up from scratch and reminded me why I needed someone, and who I was. I was the Doctor and she brought me back from the brink. I said goodbye to you a long time ago River Song and I've had plenty of time to move on. So don't come waltzing in now and act like this is another visit. Because I have a new life now. One that I have no intention of giving up."

River was stunned. She threw herself at him, a stunned hug that he didn't have the heart to throw off. He'd been hard on her, he knew that. She'd done nothing wrong, she'd just showed up, expecting things to be the same as when she left. He hadn't realised how angry he'd been at her or how he'd wanted to see the end of her after Manhattan. But after saying goodbye at Trenzalore, he had gotten complete closure and he was happy with Clara. She leaned up and before he could stop her, she was kissing him.

"Doctor?"

He shoved River off and swivelled. He heard the TARDIS doors slam and his heart shattered into a million pieces. He swore in Gallifreyan for the second time that day and legged it. He saw the diminutive girl throw herself into the house and he chased after her. She slammed the door and he slipped his key into the lock. She opened the door before he got the chance to and stood over him, her eyes blotchy and red, her voice cracked.

"Go." The Doctor didn't understand. "Get out of my sight," Clara growled, in a voice the Doctor didn't even know she possessed. "I don't want to hear any excuses about how it's been 200 years or how she kissed you. Because that's what you do Doctor. You lie. And you entice people in with your lies and make them feel special. Make them feel like they're the only girl that matters. And then there you are, kissing your wife."

"Ex-wife!" the Doctor snapped.

"Well you never got a divorce and there she is, still alive!" Clara yelled. "So I guess she's still your wife. And don't give me any time is relative bullshit or any nonsense about scrambled timelines. Just go into that TARDIS, take River and show her the stars. Because I never want to see you again. You've been a delusion Doctor, a fantasy, one that I got way too attached to. So get out of my life, right now. Go."

And with that, she slammed the door in his face. The Doctor sank to his knees and screamed. He gabbled in Gallifreyan, cursing River, Clara, himself, anything and anyone. He stormed back into the TARDIS where River was waiting, trying her best not to look too guilty. His face was blank, his voice cold and empty of all emotion.

"Get out of my TARDIS," he told River. "This second."

"But Doctor," she stammered. "I…"

"Now!" he yelled, his voice pounding her like a jackhammer. "I don't care if you need a lift home or used up all your energy or just want to spend one more day with me. I'm done River. Clara was more than just my companion. She was my…kissing partner. My girlfriend," he said the words bitterly. "And I loved her more than I thought possible. So get out of my TARDIS because you have single-handedly put me back on that cloud. The universe has made it clear that I'm not allowed to be happy and once again, there you are River. Why are you always there when my life falls apart? Get out."

River obeyed, looking at him with a mixture of shame, fear and horror. Good. She should fear him. He was the Oncoming Storm and he'd been messing around for far too long. He'd been so busy trying to build a life with stupid Earth girls when there were Daleks, Cybermen and worse flooding the cosmos. He was going to burn them all. Because if he couldn't have Clara, if he couldn't be her Doctor, then he was nothing. He wasn't the Doctor. He felt like nothing and nobody.

"Geronimo," he said bitterly and kicked the TARDIS into life.

* * *

It had been two weeks since the Doctor had left and she hadn't heard anything from him. Clara had cried and cried and cried. She stared at the deeds to the small house she had bought for them, her other Christmas surprise for the Doctor. She had tried to hold herself together under interrogation from the Maitlands and her family, but she couldn't sustain it was a weeping wreck. She hated herself for it. She had spent the years after her mum died making herself strong, so she'd never be vulnerable. But the Doctor was different. He'd given her the universe. But the whole time, he'd probably been giving River the universe. Clara was bitter and angry. In her more rational moments, she told herself that he probably hadn't known she would ever appear again, but she couldn't believe it. He had a time machine, she reminded herself. He could slip off for an hour and spend a whole month canoodling River. The thought made her punch something.

Clara hadn't been able to pick herself up by the time school came around. She was preparing herself for the eventuality that the Doctor wouldn't be there but he was. He was teaching, same as before and the sight of him filled her with every emotion known to man. He ignored her though, and went about his work in silence before returning to the TARDIS. Maybe he was just making it hard for her. Or maybe he'd wanted to see her face once last time, she wasn't sure. It was obvious to everyone that something was wrong with Clara but she'd never felt more alone. She'd considered talking to Angie and Artie but though they knew he had a spaceship and was an alien, she couldn't bring herself to burden them. Her dad would never understand. The Doctor was hundreds of years old, probably thousands. Clara would be nothing more than a blip on his radar. He was gone and he'd move on. He probably already had. He had moved on quickly enough from River. Apparently.

She knew she was being irrational. And she didn't care. She missed the Doctor with every fibre of her being, but the break up would be far easier on him than her. It had to be. He could throw himself into saving the world, pick up some other floozy, while she was stuck living everyday life, picking up the pieces and desperately trying to fix the giant holes that the Doctor had left in her life. She was still ignoring the house. She hadn't turned it down, so she was still probably going to move in. She had a couple of months to deal with it and, as much as she would never admit it, part of her still hoped the Doctor would return. She knew she was being harsh on him, but the fact was their relationship was unsustainable. He'd have to leave sooner or later and he would be fine. He always was.

"This is my cloud," he said to her one day, but those were the only words he said to her after the breakup. Then, one day, Clara heard a knock at her door. It would be him, it had to be him. He had been the only person who visited before, so it was natural for him to be the only person knocking now. She still had a large box, with all his things thrown in. She'd considered giving it to him in school but that was too public. Too many rumours. She'd been meaning to ask him to come and get it, but she couldn't bring herself to even look at him in school, let alone speak to him. She toyed with not answering the door but decided that it was probably for the best that she get this over and done with. She opened the door and River Song was stood on her doorstep.

Clara slapped the older woman as hard as she could muster, launching herself at River, punching, kicking and screaming. River didn't try and resist, taking Clara's increasingly half-hearted blows with no resentment before Clara tired herself and stood, sobbing and staring in hatred at River Song. She hated River. She didn't know why. She had no reason to hate River; in fact River had helped her at Trenzalore and been perfectly pleasant. She supposed that was still in the future for River. This was probably the reason why she had been nice to Clara. But River was the symbol of why she and the Doctor could never work. He was old. Very old. And a time-traveller. River was supposedly hundreds of years into the Doctor's past and here she was on Clara's doorstep.

"Can I come in?" River asked shakily. "I just wanted to talk."

"Whatever bullshit you have to say," Clara kept her voice as even as possible. "I don't want to hear it. It's hard enough getting over the Doctor without you here at my door, bragging about how he'll always come back to you. Well you can have him," she spat. "Because he's a lying, cheating sack of shit."

"You don't really think that," River informed her and Clara narrowed her eyes. Who was River to tell her what she thought. "You can't think that about the Doctor. Oh he lies, but only when the situation requires it. You know him well enough to know that he'd never lie to you about something so personal or important. And he'd never cheat on you."

"Ha!" Clara snapped viciously. "You say that, but I caught you two in the act. I suppose that was all you was it River? He had absolutely nothing to do with it?"

"He hates me," River admitted, a brutal edge to her voice that took Clara aback. "He lost Amy and Rory and retreated to that cloud in the sky. And I was gone. I abandoned him. And then he met you. He loves you Clara that much is obvious. He says he hadn't seen me since Amy and Rory died and I believe him. I kissed him, not the other way round. And I know it may not seem like much," she bit her lip. "But I wouldn't have kissed him if I'd known about you. To me," River was opening up and Clara felt guilty. "He's always been my Doctor. When I've travelled with him, he's been alone or with my parents. I started to think I was the only woman that mattered in his life."

"I know the feeling," Clara muttered darkly. "Thank you River, but I don't want to hear it. A relationship with the Doctor is impossible and the sooner I cut the cord, the easier it'll be for both of us. I just needed you to remind me of that."

"He's worth it Clara," River finished, keying the vortex manipulator on her wrist. "He'll break your heart, but he's still worth every second of it. Don't give up on him. I don't know where he is, but the last thing he said to me before he threw me out the TARDIS was that he was going back to his cloud. Whatever that meant. I think you understand though."

And then she was gone. Clara pondered her last words. And what he had said to her: "This is my cloud." When the echo Clara had met him, the cloud had been literal. Was he meaning the school? Clara shrugged it off, but the feeling nagged her. She wanted to hate the Doctor. But she couldn't. She loved him and missed him. And that made the fact that she had to stay away from him that much harder…


	14. Chapter 14: Reunion

***Hello again everyone. Now I've been a bit mean recently but never mind, things were a bit too rosy between the Doctor and Clara. In this chapter, things once again change and there's a bit of a shock in store. This time tomorrow, I will give you guys a sneak peek at the end. Helpful hints, spoiler free. In the meantime, I really hope you enjoy. Thanks again for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting and before I let you get to the good stuff, a bit of shameless self-promotion, I've put up a new one-shot based on the idea that Fixed Points are fixed and what happens must happen. And even the Doctor can't always save people...I hope you enjoy and there's some decent Whouffle in there as well. TPD***

* * *

Dave Oswald had always wondered what the Doctor was like as a teacher. He struck Dave as the sort of person who was completely and utterly a teacher and yet the complete opposite at the same time. He didn't want Clara to know he was there, so he slipped in while she was busy and stood in the doorway of the Doctor's classroom, watching him work. He was nothing like Dave expected. He wasn't eccentric, or flamboyant. He was sat at his desk, wearing a boring black suit and a tie that wasn't a dickie-bow. The kids looked bored as they read from their text books and as the bell went, they filed out past Dave and he heard one mutter under his breath: "These lessons used to be fun."

Dave stepped into the room and cleared his throat. The Doctor glanced up and paled, backing away from Dave. He was stammering something about hundreds of years and being sorry and not wanting to hurt his daughter but Dave put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder to relax him.

"Doctor!" he interjected. "Relax. Breathe. I'm not here to hurt you. I'll admit, there was a period where I wanted to. But Clara's story doesn't add up and I don't believe that you cheated on her. I saw your face when that River woman entered. You were angry, hurt, humiliated and surprised. The way you said she was your ex… I've never seen anyone talk that way about someone that they still have feelings for. Clara said you kissed her?"

"She kissed me," the Doctor said bitterly. "She didn't know about Clara. I've always had a lot of female friends that I've been close to. She just assumed Clara was another one. It didn't occur to her that I might actually have moved on, that I might be happy. She's an ugly reminder of my past," the Doctor sighed. "And as much as I want to move as far away from Clara as possible, I can't. This is my penance. This is my cloud. To stay here and watch over her. Make sure no harm comes to her. I can't be her boyfriend, but I can still be her protector."

"You're awfully sweet Doctor," Dave smiled. "But also stupidly melodramatic. So is Clara. She's being stubborn, thinks that letting herself hurt is easier and safer than taking the risk to be with you again. And as much as she thinks that she can't be with you and you think you can't be with her, I'm not going to sit around and let you two idiots behave like this. So here, I brought you this."

Dave handed it to the Doctor, whose eyes widened. "I can't take this Dave," he said, deathly quiet. "I don't deserve this, I've done nothing to earn it… I-"

"Enough," Dave interjected. "You love my Clara that much is obvious. It's written all over your face, just as it's written all over hers that she's in love with you. So all you have to do to earn this is to not break her heart. And that's enough for me."

"I can do that," the Doctor gulped. "I think. But Dave, there's something you need to know about me. Something that I need to show you…"

* * *

"What trickery is this?" Dave gasped, as the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors. "I mean, it's just a box. It can't move, surely not. That can't be me out there, that can't be Ellie. She's…"

"Time travel," the Doctor said. "I'm a time traveller. And I've taken your daughter with me. Clara and I, we've travelled to the furthest reaches of time and space. There we are," he pointed to Dave at himself and Clara, just a few months previous. "I took her to say goodbye."

"You…" Dave turned to look at him. "I thought you'd given Clara everything but this…you've done more for her than I ever thought possible."

"But it's dangerous," the Doctor insisted. "I'm dangerous. I've taken her to a Cold War submarine, we've been ghost hunting. I saw her burn inside my ship and had to rewrite time to save her!"

"Doctor," Dave interrupted. "You've always brought her home safe. That's all I care about. It's all I've ever cared about. You can give Clara anything she wants and as a father, that's all I've ever wanted. Since Ellie died, Clara is the only thing I have left in this world. To know that she's able to see things like this, on a daily basis. And to know that she's travelling with someone who loves her more than anything…Doctor, I trust you. And Clara trusts you. Now you go and you get your arse off this cloud of yours and you win back my daughter."

The Doctor saluted. "Yes sir."

* * *

A child had thrown up on her. That had been the highlight of Clara's day. She was in an absolutely foul mood, so it didn't brighten her mood when she saw the blue box. She swore, a word she'd never say in front of the Doctor and kicked open her own front door, imagining what she would say to him if he'd let himself into her apartment. He might have shared it with her, once upon a time, but that didn't give him the right to – she relaxed as she saw her father was sat on the sofa, reading a magazine.

"Where is he Dad?" she asked, bitterly.

"He's just going now," Dave explained. "He just gave me a lift and let me in. I told him I'd talk to you and that he should go off and do his saving the universe thing that he does. He showed me his ship, the TARDIS I think he called it?"

"So you're on his side now?" Clara snapped. "He hurt me Dad, he betrayed me and he…"

"We both know that's not true sweetie," Dave said warmly, wrapping his arm around her. "You're the best person I know for telling when someone's lying. You've always called me out on it and you've always called him out on it. So let me ask you something. Did you think he was lying?" Clara bit her lip and shook her head, starting to cry slightly. "He loves you Clara and you're clearly missing him."

"I screwed everything up Dad," she sobbed. "I knew it the minute I kicked him out. The second. But I was too scared to call after him. Too scared to go into that blue box and beg him to come back. I told myself it was for the best. Because he's…old and different and alien. But the truth is, none of that matters. Because he's the Doctor. My Doctor. And now he's gone, he's left and he won't come back. Not for me. He didn't go back for River, why should I be any different?"

"Because you have something that you can use to bring him back," Dave told her. "He said that he gave you a screwdriver or something? He said it was connected to your heart and he had the same one. It all sounded very romantic."

"His bloody screwdriver," she giggled as she sobbed. "The only thing he cares about in all of time and space. And he gave me one," she realised. "He gave me a screwdriver. Because he trusts me and loves me. And because…" she trailed off, running to her room, stumbling as she threw items out of her 'Doctor box' until she found the screwdriver, Dave a few steps behind her. "He said I could signal him," she said breathlessly. "Let him know that I was okay. I suppose this would qualify. Wouldn't it? Dad, should I call him?" Dave nodded with a smile. "Well then Chin-Boy…Geronimo."

As Clara pressed the button, the sonic whirred into life and somewhere, far across the universe, deep in the bowels of the time vortex, its twin beeped and the Doctor took it out of his pocket and smiled…

* * *

Clara heard it before she saw it. That was always the way, it seemed to her. She rushed past her dad to the window and glanced down to see a blue box materialising across the road. She giggled, overwhelmed by happiness as she ran down the stairs, flinging open the front door. She ran to the box, opening the door with a snap of her fingers. The Doctor was sat down, reading a book about knitting. She shut the doors behind her and ran over to him. He stood and turned, shooting her a look up and down. He was wearing the beige tweed and the red bow tie. His face was entirely neutral.

"I was beginning to think you'd never call," he said. Then his face broke out into a huge grin and she threw herself into his arms. He picked her up and they span, just as they had so long ago, back before they were together. "Aha I knew you'd miss me."

"Shut up," Clara smiled and buried her face in his shoulder. "I love the beige. I've never seen you in it before."

"Well it's old but it's making a comeback," the Doctor smirked. "Purple never really was my colour. Too…old fashioned. I like to think I'm 900 and something again. Back in my youth. Or the youth of this body at least. Standing on top of a hospital, shouting at the Atraxi. Ah, those were the days."

"Doctor," Clara interrupted. "You're rambling. I'm sorry," she burst out. "I mean, I was angry and irrational and I should never have just thrown you out. Because I tried really hard to blame you, to believe that you were still seeing River and that that kiss had meant something to you. Because we're impossible. We can't work. But I couldn't. I love you so much dammit. My Doctor."

"My Clara," he kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to apologise for. I should have told River right from the off that we were together and she never would have kissed me. Listen, Clara, we might be impossible, but you're my impossible girl and I am willing to do whatever it takes to be with you. I love you too, more than words can say. I want to show you the whole universe but more than that, I want to show the whole universe you. I may have two hearts and many faces, but I don't want to live for another thousand years if I can't spend every second possible with you. So, Clara, I'm going to do something crazy. Clara Oswin Oswald-"

"That's still not my middle name."

"Will you marry me?" the Doctor finished, pulling out a box and sinking to his knee. Clara's breath caught in her throat. "I know it's not the most romantic proposal," he chuckled. "But it's my first. I know I said River was my wife but we married in an alternate universe, and I was inside a robot replica of myself at the time and the whole marriage thing was just so she'd kill me and it was all very symbolic really…"

Clara shut him up by kissing him, flattening him to the floor of the TARDIS and not even daring to hope for a second that he could be serious. Her Doctor. She summoned up all the bravery she could muster as she smirked at him and clambered off.

"Ask me again tomorrow," she breathed.

"Because tomorrow you might say yes?" the Doctor concluded with a grin, sitting up.

"No, because I want to be able to relive this second every day for the rest of my life," Clara grinned. "Of course I'll marry you, you dolt! That's…" she had properly looked at the ring for the first time. "That's my mum's engagement ring," she finished, stumbling back. The Doctor leaned forward and put it on her finger.

"Your dad gave it to me," the Doctor informed her with a smile. "He wants you to be happy as much as I do. And he told me that you had something to tell me as well."

"Yeah I do," Clara grinned. "We have a house. A proper little house, with a kitchen and a bathroom and two stories and everything. I put down the deposit before Christmas, that was supposed to be your other Christmas present. We can start moving in next week."

"A house?" the Doctor grinned. "I've never had a house before. This is all new and exciting. I'm the Doctor and I have a house. Houses are cool," he decided, winking at Clara. "Where is it?" he asked. "I want to go and see it now!" he leapt over to the console and started flipping switches as Clara laughed and told him the address. They took off, whooping and cheering like school children. It reminded Clara of the first time she'd been inside his Snogbox, when they'd fought the Wi-Fi. They came to a crashing halt and Clara grinned eagerly at him. They ran outside and found a stunned couple standing in front of them. They were in the front garden.

"Don't worry," the Doctor grinned. "I'm the Doctor and this is Clara. We're going to get married! And this is our house!"

"Actually, Doctor," Clara took his arm and smiled at the couple. "This is their house. We're next-door."

"Ahh, my bad. Let me just move her!" the Doctor ran into the TARDIS and it dematerialised, re-appearing a few seconds later on the front lawn of the house next-door. Clara apologised to the couple, giggling despite herself as she ran over to her new house, throwing a Doctor a key that he caught as he stepped outside the TARDIS. "Oooh a key. Like a real house key!"

Clara opened the front door and stepped inside. They were in a small hallway that led off to the left and right, with a set of stairs directly in front of them. The Doctor ran forwards eagerly, veering off to the left into the kitchen. Clara followed, having already seen the house and examining the Doctor's reaction to everything. He commented on everything he could see, which she found adorable. There was a set of double doors in the kitchen, leading to the back garden, which he made several comments about. Clara rolled her eyes as he rushed back inside and through the door at the other end of the kitchen.

"Utility room!" she called out as he tried to work out what it was. He scurried out and through another door to his left, back into the hallway but behind the stairs. Clara followed him as he moved through into the lounge, past the downstairs toilet and Clara smiled as he examined the sofa's and flat screen TV, complete with Wii and DVD player. "Like what you see Chin-Boy?" He nodded frantically. "Right then, upstairs."

The Doctor thundered upstairs and Clara followed him, her smile never leaving her lips as he examined the bathroom at the top of the stairs. He tried the shower and jumped back as it soaked him. He went to go off to the left but Clara shook her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "That's the last stop," she told him with a smirk. He swivelled, strolling down the corridor and throwing open doors on his left and right.

"Spare rooms!" he called. "Two of them! Plenty of room for guests. That's good, I love guests. Guests are cool. Have you invited guests?" he asked, almost glaring at her.

"No," she giggled. "But if ever want any, we have plenty of room now. It saves us having to use the TARDIS," she added pointedly and the Doctor rolled his eyes. "And this one is ours." She guided him into the master bedroom, which she'd clearly already been decorating. The room was various shades of deep red and blue, entrancingly mixed together. They had an en-suite and the Doctor had to open every cupboard and examine every part. "I've not been in here since we broke up," Clara admitted. "Otherwise I would probably have painted over it, torn down some of the decoration. All your stuff is back at the apartment."

"Clara," the Doctor beamed. "The stuff doesn't make the house. The people make the house. The walls aren't covered in paint, but memories and feelings and happiness and playing. And we will make this house, awesome! Now, should I park the TARDIS in the back garden from now on, so as not to scare the neighbours?"

"I think that's probably best," Clara giggled. "We can come back next week, move in properly. In the meantime," she paused to move closer to him and kiss him. "We can test out the bedrooms…"


	15. Chapter 15: The Silent City

***First things first, thanks for everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited. In appreciation for all you amazing people, here's a sneak peek at my new Whouffle AU story: Damaged, coming to your laptops, tablets and phones on Christmas Day:**

_For Clara Oswald, this was the first day of the rest of her life. The day she started university and moved forwards instead of looking back. Instead of crying on Angie's shoulder while she and Artie tried to comfort Clara. They had a permanent babysitter now and Clara was an adult, it was time for them both to move on with their lives. It had only been a year and a half since…but Clara didn't think about it as much anymore. And when she did, she was getting much better at controlling the swirling inferno of emotions that overcame her. She could smile now and almost mean it. She could tell people fell for the act she'd put on, the warm smile, the light chuckle, the flirtatious nature. Guys thought they had a shot with her and they probably did, she'd been desperately hunting for ways to make the pain stop. The minute she'd turned 18, she'd hit the booze like never before and had had to actually work to ensure that her grades didn't slip as a result. Clara didn't quite consider it a miracle she'd come out with an A* and three A's, but she knew that if she hadn't managed it, she'd have let her mum down. And that was the only thing in life that she still strived to avoid. As much as she hated to admit it, she had stopped looking to her dad for support and approval._

_University was a way to mix everything Clara wanted. Booze, on a scale like she'd never witnessed before, a chance to reinvent herself, pretend like she'd never pretended before. Maybe even pretend to the point where the act she was putting on might actually become her. And she could come out with a decent degree and get a good job, make her mum proud. She'd grow out of needing to numb the pain. Eventually, hopefully before the end of uni, the pain would start numbing itself. _

**A few more bits and bobs before I leave you to your chapter. First off, I can exclusively reveal that the title for our three part finale is called The Wedding of the Doctor (warning, may or may not actually contain a wedding) with the epilogue being part of Chapter 26. And an interesting tidbit about this chapter. Clara mentions her favourite biscuits are Malted Milks, these are my favourite and also, Clara has very sweet tea, which is another trademark of mine. So, Chapter 15, called The Silent City. This one ends on a sort of cliffhanger, as its a two-part TARDIS trip and features a city that only exists at night, electrostatic energy and Clara getting manipulated. Enjoy, many thanks once more and sorry for the long AN. TPD***

* * *

Clara stared out into the sunset. Well sunsets technically, as the planet they were on had three of them. The sky was deep night blue but stained red across it where the suns were sinking behind the mountains to the East. After a month straight of travelling with the Doctor, Clara had no intention of going home. Their new home was waiting for them, but they had become so wrapped up in the universe that going home seemed like a shame. It reminded Clara of old times, before she had domesticated him. She wanted to free him, because as much as the Doctor never complained, he didn't feel quite the same when they were just lying in bed or making breakfast. Something moved in her line of vision and she frowned, turning to the Doctor.

"What was that?" she asked, but even as she said it, she couldn't picture the thing in her head.

"What was what?" the Doctor turned, smiling warmly at her. They were sat on the edge of a cliff and they were looking over the edge of the world, their hands meeting in the middle, their fingers interlocking.

"Nothing," Clara shook her head, feeling peculiar. The Doctor frowned at her but she felt her lips creep upwards in reassurance. She felt like he should be the one doing the reassuring though, as it niggled away at the back of her mind. "What did you say this planet was called again?"

"Alfreza," he replied. "The sunsets are among the best in the universe. For a peculiar reason. When the suns have set, the people come out to play." Clara shot him a look. "The Alfrezans are all nocturnal. Their cities rise up out of the ground when the darkness falls. They have synthetic lighting that isn't dangerous to them, but the light of three suns all hitting them at once has made them very sensitive to various radiation signals in light. And to light itself, if I'm honest. This place would be a veritable hunting ground for the Weeping Angels."

"Rambling."

"Ah yes. In any case, in approximately sixteen minutes, the city will rise over there," he pointed slightly to Clara's right and she followed his finger to a large patch of seemingly innocuous damp earth that would apparently become the greatest city on the planet. "I'll be right back!" he shouted, scrambling to his feet and heading into the TARDIS, kissing her forehead as he did so. Clara sighed happily and pulled herself away from the edge of the cliff. The clearing they were in was fairly small, as they were on the side of a forest-covered mountain. The TARDIS was backed up against the rock and on two sides there were trees. Something, Clara noticed, was moving in the trees. It stepped out in front of her and she supressed the urge to scream. It was very tall and very thin, wearing a black suit. That wasn't the weird bit. The weird bits were its head, which was abnormally large for its body with wrinkled skin wrapped over all of its features, and its hands, which were similarly overly large and wrinkled, with three long webbed fingers and a thumb protruding from each.

"Hello," Clara said, trying not to assume the worst but wary of the fact that the Doctor would make a reappearance any moment. "I'm Clara. What's your name?"

"You will take the Doctor to the city," it informed her. "The Doctor will go to the city."

"Why?" she snapped, stepping back from the creature. "What are you? What do you want with the Doctor? Are you an Alfrezan? Doctor?!" she called, turning to face the TARDIS.

"What?" he cried as he came stumbling out. "What is it Clara?"

"Nothing," Clara noted, her memory suddenly failing her completely. "I can't remember why I called you sorry."

The Doctor went back into the TARDIS, grumbling about something that she guessed was either against girls or humans. Probably both knowing his track record. Clara settled herself cheerfully back on the edge of the cliff, peering out and checking her watch to make sure that she didn't miss the start. Glancing at the suns, she saw that one had completely set and the other two were right on the verge. She grinned to herself, excited. With about a minute to spare, her fiancé came crashing out of his box, two flasks of tea and a pot of biscuits in his hands. Clara was hoping for something other than a Jammy Dodger as he offered her the tin and she was pleasantly surprised to see Malted Milks, her favourite. He was paying attention after all. She took one, nibbling into it and opting against dunking it in her tea, which was the perfect temperature and exactly how she liked it, three sugars and milk. The Doctor always pulled a face at how sweet it was, which was ironic given his taste in biscuits but it was all light-hearted banter.

"Look," he pointed. "It's starting."

Clara watched as the ground started to shake and crumble. Large clumps of dirt shot upwards, rattling and haring around like it was nobody's business, as steel rose from the earth. Some of the houses stopped a story or two above the ground, but most rose higher, some so high Clara was sure they were as high as the ledge they were on, although the Doctor assured her that that wasn't the case. Clara watched in awe as the entire city rose out of the dirt, to gleam in the light of artificial light towers which popped up in various locations across the city, around twenty in all. Clara turned to the Doctor and gestured towards the TARDIS.

"Can we go and see it up close?" she asked quietly, unsure why she wanted to go so badly.

"If you want," the Doctor shrugged. "It's just another bog standard alien city, nothing you won't have seen before. And the Alfrezans look like just humans except they've got really long limbs and barely any torso. Oi!" he grumbled as Clara's eyebrow raised and she smirked knowingly. "But if you insist, m'lady."

"I do insist!" Clara replied, unsure where her conviction was coming from but nevertheless determined to follow it through. "Please," she gave him a set of puppy dog eyes and he responded by rolling his and throwing open the TARDIS doors, inviting her in. Clara stepped into the TARDIS and he did his thing, flipping levers and switches until they were moving, taking off, into the vortex. They came to land inside the city and the Doctor stepped out triumphantly, raising his hands as if to demonstrate that he was right, the city was rubbish and could they in fact leave now. But the place was deserted. There was nobody around. Not a single person. The Doctor was already frowning when Clara stepped out of the TARDIS, shutting the door behind her and stepping forward to join him, their arms linking subconsciously. "It's a bit quiet."

"Too quiet." The Doctor sounded perturbed and Clara didn't like it one bit. She frowned at him and squeezed his arm reassuringly. He smiled briefly at her, before pulling out his sonic and scanning the air, freezing on the spot as he did so. "Clara," he turned to her. "Why are we here? What make you decide to come here?"

"I don't know," she replied frantically. "I can't remember, I just wanted to come. Does it matter? Where are all the people?" She suspected she knew the answer to that last one.

"Dead," he replied, sending a chill down her spine. "Brilliant thing about a city that's underground during the day, absolutely perfect for hiding dead bodies. And yes Clara, it does matter, of course it matters. Because the air has very low electrical energy counts in some areas and there are clear signs of electrostatic shock, energy discharges. And Clara Oswald, I've met creatures that are memory proof, have post-hypnotic suggestion and can turn any electrostatic energy in the air into a weapon, following?"

"Not in the slightest."

The Doctor sighed as if talking to a child then turned to her, bending down slightly so that they were on a level. "They're called the Silence. When you're not looking at them, you forget they exist, so you can never remember seeing them. But if someone tells you to do something while you're looking at them, then chances are you'll do it. So if a Silent told you to bring me to the city while you were looking at it…"

"Then I'd bring you to the city but not know why I was doing it…" Clara finished. "You said they turn can manipulate any electrical energy in the air and use it to kill people?" he nodded. "How? Why?"

"Not sure how, some sort of natural control over certain base elements, it's not important. As for the why…" he stopped briefly and bit his lip. "Last time I saw them, they were trying to kill me. And not in a, everyone who meets me tries to kill me kind of way because I can see that's what you're thinking, you've got that face on." Clara frowned at him. "No, the Silence are some sort of religious order that want me dead and those creatures lead them. Their end goal, is well my end. They want nothing more than to kill me. And apparently they've been trying for a long time. How they knew we were here, or indeed what they're doing here I have no idea. Get back in the TARDIS Clara," he instructed. "We need to get out of here."

Clara was surprised by this response but didn't argue, backing up towards the TARDIS but finding a solid wall of energy in her way. She hammered at it but it was no use. The Doctor cursed and soniced it, muttering irritated noises under his breath. Clara turned to him, fearful and he pulled her into a hug that was broken by the crackle of electricity behind them. Clara yelped and span, pulling out her own sonic to match the Doctor's. She didn't miss the look of pride on his face. She put her sonic away as he finished scanning the air.

"Yep," he muttered darkly. "They're converting power from the lights into some kind of force field. We can't leave. At least not in the TARDIS and I'm not leaving her here. Where are they? What are they waiting for?"

"Doctor," Clara almost whimpered. "They haven't been waiting. They've been here the entire time. We just keep forgetting that we're looking at them."

"Ah that would explain it. Clara, stay behind me," he growled and they stood almost back to back, trying to keep all of the Silents in their eye line. "I count twelve," he whispered to her. "I reckon, if we double up our sonics, we should be able to create an energy feedback from the discharge they use and shock one of them enough to stun it. And then, the other eleven will kill us while we celebrate. Sorry, not helpful."

"Not really no. How about the usual backup plan?"

"You mean run? I was thinking that myself actually. RUN!"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her after him, as the Silents hissed and crackled, sending energy flying after the running couple. Clara screamed and the Doctor threw her out in front of him, spinning and sonicing. It had no effect.

"Keep running," he yelled. "Give me the sonic."

She threw him her sonic on instinct and kept running, but constantly glanced over her shoulder to make sure he was still two steps behind her. The Doctor brought the two sonics together and there was a deafening bang. Clara felt her hair stand up on end and she was thrown to the ground by a force of energy. As she gasped for air, the Doctor threw her sonic at her. She caught it inches from her face and glared at him. His floppy hair was spiked up everywhere and his clothes were singed. She giggled at the sight of him despite their situation and he narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he asked. "I know, I may have underestimated the energy feedback a touch, but I think I stunned them all, at least temporarily. See, I can do good sometimes, given the right equipment. And would you stop laughing at my hair?" he snapped. "I'm not laughing at yours Cruella."

Clara stopped laughing and ran a hand through her own hair, to find it was equally spiky and groaned. This was going to be a nightmare to sort out. Running with the Doctor was always a nightmare for her personal skin and hair care, she used half her bath oils and shampoos in one go cleaning up from a trip to planet of the snot, or volcanic ash or god knows where. He straightened his bow tie and went take her hand again. A small electric shock zapped them both and Clara swore. The Doctor grinned.

"I feel like that whenever we touch anyway," he said quietly and Clara blushed. "But seriously, we shouldn't touch each other for a while, we're both conduits for electrostatic electricity. When your hair goes down, it'll indicate you're no longer holding dangerous levels of static. Did I say dangerous?" he added quickly, as Clara's eyes widened. "I meant totally not dangerous. The opposite of dangerous in fact. Oh look, an artificial light, let's see if we can do anything useful with it."

He slipped past her and Clara cursed him under her breath, careful not to touch anything metal as she chased after him. She caught up with him as he hit his sonic against a metal wall in frustration and shocked himself. She couldn't help but smile at his adorable yelp. She glanced around. No Silents in sight.

"They'll be stunned for a good twenty minutes," the Doctor informed her. She hadn't even realised he'd been watching her. "You think the energy feedback was bad for us, they were about to discharge. Imagine all that electrical energy built up in your system, even if you are used to it. Luckily, we have an edge. A piece of knowledge that they don't."

"Which is?" Clara asked, hoping to keep her voice down as she leaned in closer to the Doctor, catching her arm on a building in the process and hissing in pain at the resulting electric shock.

"That the nights on this planet only last for a couple of hours," the Doctor smiled. "And we may have jumped forwards a bit in time; I left the temporal engine running. We have…" he glanced at his watch. "Forty-two minutes until sunrise, at which point, the lights will switch off and we'll be able to get back into the TARDIS. Bad news," he added quickly. "Is that that is also when the city starts to sink into the ground, so we could end up trapped underground all day if we get into a building and if we don't, we'll either lose the TARDIS or possibly get trapped under the earth and suffocate. So we need to be outside the TARDIS in forty-one minutes. Pronto. ASAP. LOL. Not the last one?" he asked as Clara shot him a despairing look. "Don't worry Clara, forty-one minutes, with the Silents down for almost half of that, we can manage. The sonics might be able to pull that stunning trick again, but I don't want to risk it," he mused. "We've already got dangerously high static levels in our bodies and I don't want to kill you."

"There you go again with that word dangerous. I always feel so much better after we've talked. Doctor," Clara urged with an extra level to her voice. "Do you have a plan?"

"Of sorts," he told her, which didn't fill her with confidence. "I'm going to completely deactivate this light, absorb the energy into the sonic and try to beat the Silents at their own game. The smaller the pool of energy that they have to play with, the less they can use to fuel the force field around the TARDIS."

"Doctor?" Clara asked suddenly and he shot her an odd look, as if she was about to suggest something brilliant. She certainly felt that that was where she was going. "Is there anything connecting the lights? Underground I mean? Won't they all be centrally operated? And if that's the case, why are we taking them out one by one?"

He kissed her. He grabbed her and he snogged her, their mouths crashing together and their tongues dancing as a powerful electric shock blasted them. Despite the pain, Clara blushed furiously, enjoying the kiss too much to stop but he quickly broke it before jumping up and down.

"Clara Oswald, you are a genius!" he yelled. "We have the entire power grid at our disposal. If we can connect all the lights, then we can form them into a ring, like a power generator, a giant circle of energy. And then, we can back fire it all on them. All twenty lights, the TARDIS force field and the Silents own energy, all zapped back on them. Brilliant. All we need is a connection to channel them through. Something plugged into both ends of the system…" He grinned. "Like two identical screwdrivers. One of us finds our way to the underground, the other one stays above ground to draw the Silents out and then plug their sonic into the light system and watch the fireworks. Charred Silents for breakfast! Right, I'll have to be the bait, so that means you need to go underground and find the generator. Thirty four minutes. Ah we've got time. Sort of."

"Doctor," Clara urged him and he turned to her, all concerned. He did that sometimes, she noticed. They would be in the middle of something earth-shattering, literally, and he'd turn to her, realising she was upset or scared or uneasy and he'd do everything to appease her while everything else burned around him. The world could be burning and he'd be more concerned with making sure Clara was alright. She loved him for that. "What do I do here? How do I get down there? What do I do when I'm down there?" She didn't say what she was thinking. What would she do if day came and a building came down on top of her? Presumably die.

"Clara," he whispered, all reassuring and Doctory. So him. "I need you to do this. I believe in you. There are access tunnels available through the basements of buildings. Smash windows; take apart doors. Nothing here should be inaccessible with that sonic. Telepathy, point and think. The more you use it, the more control you'll have. When you get down there, listen very carefully now Clara, you turn every light up to maximum, flood as much power through the system as you can. If you're not sure what to do, look for switches, it should be so easy a child can do it. Then sonic the system when I give the signal. Hard, full power. I want that system overloaded; I'll channel everything up to me and deal with the Silents. You'll know the signal because it should come as a telepathic message on this." He handed her his psychic paper. She nodded, running over the instructions in her head. He kissed her on the forehead and hugged her, resulting in a painful jolt between them that neither of them were really bothered by. "Thirty two minutes Clara, be back up by then," he warned her. "If not, signal me and I should be able to get you in the TARDIS. I'll work up here and draw the Silents in. One more thing," he called as she went to walk off. He bit his lip. "Clara," he said quietly. "There may be Silents down there. Be careful."

"You be careful," she replied cheekily. "There's guaranteed to be Silents up here. See you later Chin-Boy."


	16. Chapter 16: Electrical Attraction

*** Hello everyone. So the resolution of the Silence chapter is upon us and I hope you enjoy it. Very action-packed chapter, with electricity at the heart of it. There's not too many Doctor/Clara moments in this chapter but the next one is very Whouffle, so I'm hoping to make up for it. Nevertheless, enjoy and many thanks to everyone who has followed, favourited read and reviewed. Please keep reviewing, it means a lot to me :) TPD***

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Clara could almost feel the electrical current running through her as she kicked down the door to what looked to be a warehouse of some sort, thankful she was wearing insulated boots that didn't attract electricity. The Doctor had told her that this building would have the maintenance access she required, as according to him it was the purpose of it. Sure enough, as she clambered down the metal steps, desperately trying to avoid touching anything, she spotted a door in the corner of the basement. She soniced it open and stepped into the eerie tunnel. It was dimly lit and small, making Clara instantly feel claustrophobic and reminding her of a Cold War submarine from so long ago.

It had probably been a year, she realised, her heart jumping with a jolt. The Doctor always tried to even out days, so if they spent a month on the TARDIS, he'd compensate by taking a month out of home life. He'd saved up a lot of TARDIS time, so the fact that they hadn't gone home in a month was counterbalanced by that. And, according to the Doctor, they'd taken a week's holiday, which she didn't know was possible in a school but rampart food poisoning had that effect. They'd have to do something to celebrate. Like get married. As soon as she thought it, she felt her stomach twist the way it always did when she considered it; a mixture of excitement, nerves and terror. She knew that was normal with any marriage, let alone one to a 1200 year old alien with two hearts, a time machine and an insane sex drive. But it felt incredibly weird to consider that in a few months, she'd be marrying the Doctor. When they got back, she decided, they had to have a massive party, invite everyone and announce it. She smiled at the thought. They could do it in the new house. The Doctor apparently still had some friends kicking about he wanted to invite and she thought that it was sweet that he'd instantly ruled River off that list, although she sensed River wouldn't like the idea of watching her husband become engaged anyway.

As Clara reached the end of the corridor, she was pulled out of her thoughts and back to reality. There was a fork at the end and the Doctor had told her to use the sonic and let it guide her. As she reached the fork, she prepared to scan, though what she was supposed to be scanning for was beyond her. She hated this psychic interface business, why didn't the sonic just tell her where to go? But as she looked to her left, she saw a Silent and froze on the spot. It snarled at her and Clara knew she had to run. But the second she stopped looking at it…Unless someone told her to run away from it…

"Clara, run!" she told herself and swivelled, running down the corridor with no real idea why other than that she was probably in danger. She could still remember her task down there, so putting two and two together, she reckoned she'd seen a Silent. She would have glanced over her shoulder to see if it was still following her, but she didn't want to have to keep repeating the same internal reasoning over again. She felt static build up around her and heard the Silent roaring. If you could call it a roar. It was more of a hoarse gasp. Clara reached a doorway and ran through, electricity crackling around her, as she threw it shut and soniced it, hoping it would stay put under the Silent onslaught. She could still feel the electricity coursing through her and it was really starting to hurt. Clara was also beginning to feel faint. She was starting to think she should have been worried when the Doctor mentioned dangerous levels. Clara looked around and figured that she had to be in the control room. There were lots of complicated computers and generator things. She quickly looked around and realised that there was a set of switches, numbered 1-20. She grinned. That must control the lights, she reckoned and flipped them all up to maximum. She felt a pain in her chest and staggered back, the crackling electricity on the other side of the door getting louder and being compounded by a loud banging. The Silents were getting in.

* * *

The Doctor had just finished fiddling with the light when the city began to be flooded by lights. He smiled to himself, hopping down from the cart he'd been stood on to look around. Everything was set then. The lights were up to maximum and he'd configured the chain to blast inwards when it overloaded. All he needed Clara to do was overload the system. He bit his lip. He hoped she was hanging on alright down there. If there were Silents down there with her, they'd be buried alive in… nineteen minutes, but they could do plenty of damage in that time. At least with the lights up to full, he knew she'd found the control room and was probably safe. More safe than him in any case. They would be awake by now and that was even assuming that the dozen they'd fended off were the only Silents around. The Doctor kept glancing around, ensuring he had a pen handy to mark his skin if required. He cursed himself for not giving Clara the same advice.

The Doctor kept mostly to the shadows, lingering on the edge of the circle. He'd need to message Clara twenty seconds or so before he soniced and he had every intention of sonicing the light from outside of the circle, rather than inside it. He had a sudden thought for the TARDIS, trapped in the middle of a swirling, electromagnetic vortex, but told himself that he was being silly and she was sufficiently shielded. He supposed that he'd probably need to get inside her anyway and he hadn't quite figured out how he was going to take down the force field before the overload. Ah well, one problem at a time. Seventeen minutes. A horrible thought hit him. If they didn't overload the system in the next seventeen minutes, then there would be no system to overload and who knows what the Silents would do then? He took a deep breath. Time to draw them out then.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the Doctor yelled, grabbing the handles of the cart and pushing it forcefully into the side of a building, ignoring the pain that wracked his arms through the electromagnetic forces. Another thought hit him at that moment. He was crackling with energy. Even if he was outside the circle, he would probably light up like a Christmas tree. So would... No, he told himself. Clara was earthed. Literally. There was no way the electrical currents would penetrate down that far. He licked a finger and pressed it against the ground, earning a shock for his troubles. He had to find a way inside the TARDIS in the next fifteen minutes or they were both dead. A crackling to his left shattered his thoughts. The Silents had arrived.

* * *

Clara tried to stay alert, but her entire body spasmed with electrical energy. She collapsed to the floor and tried to breathe but her lungs felt heavy. She thought back to her rudimentary physics. There was one way to get the energy out her body. The same way that the Silents did, discharge it. But she would have no control over the discharge; she would probably kill herself at this point. Unless, she did what the Doctor had done. But he'd said that was risky and would be far too dangerous. Then again, she got the impression that her entire body was about to shut down anyway as another powerful wave struck through her and she screamed in pain. The door crashed open and Clara realised she had no choice.

"Please work," she whispered. And then she activated the sonic.

The shockwave that left her felt like a release. She gasped in relief, like an incredible orgasm of electrical energy that shot all in one direction. With the sonic guiding the discharge, it flew out in a single current, straight through the two Silents that were at the door, disintegrating them instantly, before pinging all the down to the end of the corridor and crashing against the opposite wall, so far down the other end. She was in agony, but she was free of the pent up energy and it had never felt more merciful. The Doctor had just blasted electrical energy in every direction. He'd had to, in order to knock them all out. But when she'd done it, it had all discharged in one way, leaving the equipment and Clara safe. She grinned at her sonic and kissed it. Looks like it could be independently clever after all.

Reminding herself to thank the Doctor later, she turned back to the console, seeing if there was anything else she could do to help the Time Lord out. Then she spotted something that looked like it shouldn't be there. Or at least, she thought not. Everything else was grey or silver, metallic on the console, but there was a small black box, that had been manually plugged into the system. As she placed a hand on the desk, she yelped as another current zipped through her. She muttered painfully. It looked as though she wasn't completely free of the built up static yet. She examined the box further. The controls looked very annoying and complicated. Clara bit her lip. Could it be controlling the force field? Well, at this point, she sensed there was very little else it could do, and nothing that would compromise the Doctor. She unplugged the device. It gave a little splutter, then something happened. There was a noise, like something being deactivated. There were no screens though, so Clara couldn't see what was being deactivated. She turned her attention to the light switches. The red lights on top of them were all holding firm. She prayed that that had worked. Then allowed herself a moment of triumph. She was most definitely on a roll. Then, her sonic whirred of its own accord and she delved into her pocket. As she opened it, a message formed itself. _GERONIMO IMPOSSIBLE GIRL! X_ She smiled at it and pushed her sonic against the console. Geronimo indeed. She pressed the button.

* * *

The Doctor ducked low as another bolt of electricity sailed over his head and the Silent howled in disbelief and what the Doctor hoped was anger. He was running out of time. He had just eleven minutes left to get to the TARDIS and find a way to deactivate that wretched force field. He skidded round a corner and realised that he was hopelessly lost. He was definitely going the wrong way. He couldn't remember what he was running from. He turned on the spot and ran the other way, keeping the thoughts TARDIS and force field present in his mind. He could not let himself forget, Clara's life depended on it. He knew there were Silents around somewhere, he could still hear them and he guessed he'd probably seen them. Suddenly, he realised he'd seen this part of the city before. He was finally on the right track. He passed through a square and realised that the Silents were on his tail. They'd left him nowhere to run, all the alleys were blocked off and they began to converge, howling and crackling. Well, almost nowhere.

The Doctor soniced and ran, kicking open a house door and pounding through it, hoping that when he kicked down the back door, there wasn't a Silent waiting for him. There were three, but he kept running, pushing past them as electricity crackled all around him. He yelped, couldn't remember why he was running, then thought TARDIS, force field and it all came flooding back. Clara. Silents. Force field. TARDIS. The same four thoughts, over and over again. He only had five minutes left, he thought. Five minutes until Clara died. And he couldn't have that. Not before they were married. He veered left and right, desperately weaving to avoid the blasts of the Silents. There were lots of them, he decided as they fired from what seemed like all angles. If just one of their blasts got a direct hit, he was finished. The air felt heavy with all the electricity and he staggered, running to almost a halt as he stumbled into another square.

And, there she was. The TARDIS. His TARDIS. TARDIS, Clara, Silents. There were something else. Force field! He clicked his fingers and stumbled over to the old girl, pulling out his sonic again, desperate to see if there was something he'd missed. The Silents converged. Two minutes. Nothing. He'd not missed anything. Sadness turned to anger as the Doctor stared down the monsters. Then, there was a flicker. The Silents were as distracted as he as the force field clattered down. Clara had done it. She'd lowered the force field. The Doctor loved her more than he'd thought possible in that moment and sent her a psychic message. A few seconds later, the lights sparked and the Doctor ran over to the nearest one, situated right behind the TARDIS. He activated the sonic. The light exploded, a veil of energy surrounding it and it formed a chain with the two nearest lights, which were streets away. The Doctor was already moving, throwing himself into the TARDIS and throwing levers. He could hear the Silents scream as they were barbequed and he felt his sonic pulse. Clara. He rammed it into the TARDIS and the machine whirred into life, complaining about the electromagnetic field that was surrounding them.

"If you let Clara die because of a tiny bit of electricity, I'll shut you down and leave you to rot!" the Doctor yelled. "If I can handle it, so can you!" He felt his body spasm and pulse with every switch he flipped, the electricity burning his insides. "For Clara!" he screamed as the TARDIS landed. The doors opened and a very small, very scared, very static girl dived in, yelling to get out as explosions and electromagnetic forces filled the air outside the TARDIS. The Doctor flipped the take-off lever and staggered back, yelling in pain. Clara hobbled over to him, only just in better shape than he was. They fell to the floor of the TARDIS together, writhing in agony for a few seconds, before the TARDIS whined and the Doctor sat up, still pained.

"What took you so long?" Clara said breathlessly, grinning at him but holding her side. "I had to deactivate the force field all on my own, and defeat two Silents while you ran about like a headless chicken."

"I did not run about like a headless chicken!" the Doctor protested. Then, after a moment's pause, he relented. "Maybe there was a lot of running and ducking and dodging and headless, chickening type stuff. But the important thing is, we both made it. Are you okay?"

"I feel like my head's going to explode," Clara admitted. "It nearly did back there. I was so full of static, I had to use the sonic to discharge it. Luckily it worked, fried the Silents good and proper. Oh don't look so shocked, I'm awesome."

"Clara, you could have died," he complained. She could tell he wanted to hug her but neither of them could move, they were still suffering the after-effects. "But I must admit, you were incredible out there. Whatever you did, you saved us."

"Nah, you did all the heavy-thinking!" Clara giggled. "And it was mainly the sonic to be honest. There was a lot of pointing and thinking involved. So the feedback worked then?"

"Seemed to," the Doctor managed to stand and hobbled over to the console. "Even if it didn't we're alive and free from them and that's the main thing. The TARDIS is gently lowering our static levels," he informed her. "It should take a few hours to be complete, but you should be okay to stand soon." She nodded. "I love you Clara."

"I love you too Chin-Boy. Now, is there any chance in hell you could carry me to bed. All I want to do is lie back and get rid of this static build up in peace."

"I would!" he promised her as she raised an eyebrow. "But any contact between us is still prohibited, given the circumstances. The TARDIS was getting pissy with me before, about too many levers." He flinched and she narrowed her eyes. He tried to hide his hands from her, but she was just about on her feet now and hobbling towards him. He winced as she looked at them, looking around for something to use to grasp them with. There was a pair of rubber gloves under the console and she snatched them up, examining the Doctor's hands. Her breath caught in her throat and the Doctor looked ashamed. His hands were red raw and burnt to a crisp. Tears slipped down Clara's cheeks and dropped onto them, which the Doctor seemed to find oddly soothing.

"How did this happen?" she whispered. "Saving me?"

"I needed the TARDIS to cooperate," he muttered. "A lot of lever flipping, a lot of electrical discharges, it was nothing I couldn't handle."

"Couldn't handle?!" she almost exploded. "You've done some serious damage here Doctor. These need serious medical attention! Now! I can't believe you did this!"

"I'd rather that than have you barbequed the same way as the Silents," he responded, with a bitter edge to his voice. "Clara, there was no other way and I don't regret it. There's a cream, in the Medical Bay. It'll fix it. Argh!" he yelled out in pain as his hands flared up and Clara was torn for an instant between holding him, still wearing the gloves or running to get the cream. "Go. Cream. Please!" he begged and she let go of him and ran. He slipped to the floor and as hard as Clara tried to block it out, all she could hear was his yelling. The TARDIS seemed to be as in pain as she was, as the Medical Bay was the first room she came to and there was only one light on in the entire room, in an open cupboard. Clara ran to the cupboard and grabbed the only thing in there. It had to be the cream. She hurriedly read the label as she ran back to him. He'd stopped yelling, his sobs now down to almost a whimper. She unscrewed the cap and pulled off the gloves. She heard him mutter no but she didn't care. She ignored the wheezing TARDIS and poured the cream onto her hand, before rubbing them together and then lathering them onto the Doctor's. The moment they touched was pure agony, but Clara felt okay after that, as the cream covered their hands. She could hear the Doctor get better, but she could also see it. He looked up and smiled at her and they sat like that for seemed like an age. Hand in hand, the dull pain gradually subsiding, until they both fell asleep on the TARDIS floor, hands still intertwined.


	17. Chapter 17: Dreaming of Home

*** Hello everyone! Time for the usual shameless self promotion, please read my other fics and my new Whouffle AU is out on Christmas Day yada yada. Thank you so much to my readers, followers, favouriters and reviewers, especially to the handful of you that review every chapter (you know who you are and so do I). It's always nice to have new reviewers as well, people who've read the whole lot in one go. The last few chapters have been very heavy so this is a nice change of pace. It's very fluffy, but also very deep as I really wanted to delve into the Doctor here. So, Gallifrey, regeneration and parents. I've taken a few liberties here but these are my own interpretations of the Doctor's past and his thoughts on the Time Lords. I hope you enjoy it :) TPD***

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The Doctor woke in Clara's bed on the TARDIS and frowned. All he could remember was pain. They'd fought the Silence, won and ended up lying on the floor of the TARDIS in agony until they fell asleep. It made sense that she'd brought him here, after all she wouldn't be able to find his bedroom, the TARDIS still refused to let Clara in there without the Doctor being with her and well, conscious, even though it was probably fine, what with the Doctor in the state he'd been in. He felt his hands, working them over in his head. They felt fine. The cream had actually worked then, thank goodness, he'd just been bluffing. At least the TARDIS was looking out for him. He tried to focus on his surroundings but with Clara nowhere to be seen, there wasn't much for him to do. His limbs felt heavy with stiffness and weariness and the Doctor sat up with an almighty effort. His body was aching all over. It was a miracle that it hadn't packed it in once and for all, he thought, all things considered. He'd had this body for a long time and he was accustomed to it, but he figured it wouldn't be long now before it gave in on him. As long as he was still someone who Clara could love for the rest of his life, he didn't care. They could die together, the Doctor thought. If this was his last body, then he couldn't think of anyone better to share his last few years with.

"Chin, you're awake?!" Clara was beaming from ear to ear as she stepped into the bedroom with a tray. The Doctor sat up and smiled as warmly as he could at her as she placed the tray down on the bedside table and leaned over to hug him, kissing him as she pulled away. "How're you feeling?" she asked anxiously, her worry written all over her adorable face. Her hair was pulled up and she was wearing a woolly jumper and a pair of his boxers. Her eyes were heavy though, as if she hadn't slept properly. The Doctor wondered how long he'd been out of action.

"Oh I'll survive," the Doctor smiled. "Nothing this old body can't shake off. Is that soup?" he asked with a glance at the bowl of red, steaming liquid. "I love soup, Clara did you make me soup?"

"I figured," Clara said, clambering across him and slipping into bed beside him. "It was about time I took care of you for once. All those times you nursed me when I was sick, carried me places when I passed out. All those times you've made me breakfast in bed; I figured it was my turn. You were in a pretty bad way," she admitted, clearly shaken by it. "I was really worried about you."

"You don't have to worry about me," the Doctor lied. "I can cope. Thank you for the soup Clara, I really appreciate it. As soon as I'm feeling better, I'll take you to a wonderful spa on the planet Glistening, how does that sound?"

"You worry about making sure that you're okay," Clara kissed his forehead. "I'll worry about the TARDIS. We're still in the vortex, have been for about a day and a half. I think she wants to land."

"Yes," the Doctor murmured. "She'll need refuelling. Frankly, I think we all do. So, the TARDIS can refuel and then I'll take you to Glistening so that you can refuel."

"And what about you?" Clara asked, her voice barely higher than a whisper. "When do you get to refuel?"

"I'm a Time Lord Clara," he chuckled, turning away from her and grabbing the soup tray and placing it on his lap. "I get a complete refuel when I die."

"Doctor!" her voice was agitated and the Doctor turned back to her. Her face was lined with worry and her eyes were glistening. "Stop pretending that you're alright. I hate it. You might think that you need to protect me against the truth but the truth is you're not okay. You've had this body for a long time, hundreds of years you told me. The amount of damage you do to yourself, it can't be in a good shape. So before I refuel and before the TARDIS refuels, you're going to put yourself first for once. You're a Doctor. Physician heal thyself. There must be a planet where you can get your body all rejuvenated?"

"Glistening is more than just a spa Clara," he smiled. "The wells from which they draw the water from their baths contain so many rich and raw minerals, they have excellent restorative capabilities. I will feel a lot better after one, especially knowing that I'm sharing a bath with the most beautiful girl in the universe. If you detract the nose."

"Oi!" Clara giggled despite the nose comment. "Thank you Doctor," she said, throwing her arms around him. "It means a lot to me that you're going to put yourself first for once. You need to do it more often. And you need to let me put you first too."

"Okay Clara," the Doctor smiled. "My Clara. I'll let you put me first. I can never bring myself to ever put my own needs ahead of yours or ahead of anyone who's in danger. If I could, I suppose I'd be a pretty rubbish Doctor. But what I can do – will do for you, is to let you put me first. If every now and then, you do things for me or ask me to take us somewhere you think I need, then I'll go along with it. And I'll try my hardest not to lie to you to protect you, even though I only do it because I have your best interests at heart."

"I know that sweetheart," Clara nuzzled her face against the Doctor's neck and settled there as he ate his soup. "But I hate seeing you get battered by someone like the Silence and then come out the other side afraid to show you're hurt. It's dangerous to hide your pain from others to protect them, because then who's protecting you? I know you think you don't need protection, but we're going to be married. You need to start letting me protect you."

"Clara Oswald," the Doctor said kindly, offering her a spoonful of soup which she gratefully accepted. "I would be honoured if you would protect me. Truly. And might I also say, this is the best soup I've ever had. Truly top notch. So good in fact, that I'm going to save the rest for later!" Clara narrowed her eyes as the Doctor pushed away the soup.

"You're lying."

"No I'm not! I really do want you to protect me. It means a lot to me that you care that much. I know you think that I'm an emotionless, weird alien, but you make me rethink emotions every second I'm with you Clara. I warm to them more when I think about you and what you've brought into my life."

"That's all well and good, but you're lying about the soup. You hate it."

"No I don't."

"Then eat it, go on then!"

She crossed her arms and the Doctor smiled as brightly as he could at her and spooned more soup into his mouth, trying not to gag at the taste.

"See! Hmm it's lovely!"

"I hate you sometimes."

* * *

After another half hour of soup-related bickering, which resulted in most of the bowl ending up on the TARDIS floor, which impressed the machine not one jot and she threw the pair out of Clara's room, which mysteriously disappeared. Clara found a sock and half a bra in the toilet later that day and it took a lot of apologising from both of them to persuade the TARDIS to return Clara's things. The Doctor was feeling a lot better and after their trip to Glistening, Clara felt truly rejuvenated. They'd violated the sacred bath tubs and been thrown out and banned for life, so they'd returned a year earlier and not been caught that time. It always made Clara laugh when they pitched up in places and the people there hated or loved the Doctor for things he hadn't yet done. They had once been to one planet which worshipped Clara as a goddess and she wasn't sure why until the following week when they went back and the people there thought the Doctor was a demon because of his chin and by trapping him in his own blue box, Clara was some sort of protector, saving them from the demon chin. She'd called him Demon Chin for about a month afterwards until he'd sulked enough that she felt bad and stopped. After Glistening, they landed in Cardiff and the Doctor took Clara out for fish and chips. They were sat on a bench by the sea when he checked the date and turned to Clara, a sad note in his voice.

"I suppose we should be getting home," he said, smiling wistfully. "It's been a good month or so for us, but we've been gone for a week and we need to get back. Move into the house, get back to school, have an engagement party." Everything he said seemed to cheer him up and Clara giggled as his facial expressions changed during his own speaking. "Humans only yes?"

"If they look human, that's fine," Clara clarified. "So Jack can come, as long as he doesn't sleep with anyone. I'd ask you to stop him flirting but frankly your face when he flirts makes it worth the slight uncomfortability of the whole situation. I'll send out the invites last week?"

"You know I find it really hot when you do that?"

"Do what?" Clara asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Make references to time not being linear. It's all physicsy and sexy and I'm just here like: 'I'm engaged to someone who understands and spouts rubbish about the laws of time'."

"Oh, you like me to sound like you?" Clara smirked and his face fell as he stammered. "It's alright, I like it when I sound like you too, I feel clever and stuff. And besides, I don't really understand time, I just pick up bits and bobs from you, like we have a time machine, so we can do things we've already done and stuff like that. I leave the heavy-lifting to you Chin-Boy. So how long do we have to stay in Cardiff?"

"Another twenty minutes should do it," the Doctor checked his watch and smiled at her. "We're throwing an engagement party Clara Oswald. You're going to be Mrs Doctor after all."

"Yes," Clara said, the most magical word the Doctor had ever heard. "I suppose I am," she giggled. "You're going to be Mr Oswald. Mr Clara Oswald. Oh god," she thought. "What are we going to put on the registry? How am I going to introduce you to everyone? My whole family will have to meet you!"

"I can be John Smith," he smiled. "Doctor John Smith and you can be Clara Oswald. You know," he pondered. "I was really hoping to do a Gallifreyan ceremony, but I suppose we'd need my parents for that, so I guess we'll have to stick with the human way of doing it."

"You never talk about your parents," Clara noted. "Of all the things you're open about with me, you've never told me about them."

"Would you like to meet them?" the Doctor asked and Clara's jaw dropped. She nodded frantically. "Well you can if I ever find Gallifrey. I can see them again. It'll be…" he paused. "Interesting. They both died long before the Time War," he elaborated. "Before I ran away from Gallifrey in fact. But they were resurrected." The bitterness in his voice stung Clara. "The High Council," he spat the words. "Did everything to win the war. They used weapons that should never have been allowed to leave that vault, they experimented on Time Lords in so many ways, desperate to make them immortal, anything to stop Dalek fire power. The war twisted them so far, I can see why people stopped cheering for them. And the High Council utilised every weapon and every Time Lord at their disposal. Well, almost all," he paused, Clara hooked on his every word. "My parents were sent into the war for two reasons," he carried on. "My father was an excellent warrior and my mother," he smiled now, and the adoration in his voice was clear. He looked in Clara's eyes. "She was a healer. A doctor of sorts. One of the best. They were useful to the Time Lords, precious few of their order were equipped to deal with Daleks. Too long in the shadows," he muttered darkly. "The other reason was to punish me. The Time Lords tricked me and used me. Multiple times. One of the ways they used me, was to send me to the birth of the Daleks and try to stop it. They used me as a pawn in their wars and I'd had enough. So when they wanted me to join the Time War, I told them where to shove it. I'm not sure if bringing back my parents was to torture me or convince me to join them but I suspect they knew that I would never fight on their side. The war changed everyone Clara. It changed me."

"But it made you the man you are today," Clara insisted. "And look at you now. You've experienced the worst of the universe. Atrocities beyond measure. And look what it did to you. Almost everyone would go mad, or homicidal or suicidal but you? You've seen the worst of people, the worst of all species and it made you determined to fix them. To fix everything. You see a universe broken, riddled with pain and war and suffering. And all you can think about is how to help. And that's why you're the Doctor. My Doctor. Because you care about these monsters. These people who took your parents and warped them into…whatever the Time War did to them. And you think: I need to save them."

"If I could see them," he whispered, and there were tears rolling down his cheeks. "Just once more, I'd say sorry. It's my fault they fought in the Time War. All of them," he turned to Clara, and his voice was broken. "The Time Lords. I ran away from Gallifrey. I should never have run."

"But everything you've told me about your people, you've done so much good, made the universe a better place!"

"And don't you see Clara?!" he yelled and she instantly put her hand to his cheek to comfort him. "Look at me. I'm the last of them. And do you know why? Because I'm different to them. Because I ran from Gallifrey, saw the universe and tried to mend it. The rest of them, they were all too…" he stopped and took a deep breath. "Just imagine Clara, what good two of me could do. Or three. Or four. If I'd stayed on Gallifrey…I ran because I didn't like the way the Time Lords did things. But if I'd stayed, I could have made a difference. Because I ran, things stayed the same. And then, they got worse. I could have ruled Gallifrey," he admitted and her jaw dropped. "They offered me the post. If I'd had any sense I'd have taken it. I may not want to rule anywhere, but think of all the good I could've done. If even half a dozen Time Lords were still running around, helping people…or if we'd never gone to war…"

"Doctor!" Clara interrupted, kissing him deeply. "You can't save people from themselves. You couldn't stop the Time Lords being who they wanted to be, who they were. You did the right thing and you took a stand against them. All the worlds you've saved…You didn't save them because you were a Time Lord. You saved them because you're the Doctor. They were who they were and you were a good person. The Time War," she stopped for breath. "It happened. And you can't blame yourself for it. Because you did what you thought was right, what you had to do. And you saved them. You can go back, find Gallifrey and meet your parents and show them a better way. Your way. You can introduce me," she giggled. "And we can have a proper, Gallifreyan wedding if that's what you want."

"I can never have a Gallifreyan wedding with you Clara," he said bitterly, smiling at her and squeezing her hand. "My father would never allow it. The High Council would never allow it. They were angry enough when I married the first time," he chuckled, remembering. "And she was a Time Lord. I can't imagine for a second that my father would approve of me marrying an Earth girl. And the High Council…" he snorted at that.

"Bugger the High Council," Clara grinned and snogged him. "I'll tell them exactly where they can shove their Gallifreyan marriage ceremony if that's what they think. I love you. My Doctor."

"I love you too Clara Oswald," the Doctor smiled and checked his watch. "Now then, let's go and tell the world that we're engaged."


	18. Chapter 18: A Life Together

***Hello everyone. Another day, another chapter. It's Christmas Eve still here but Merry Christmas for those of you who have hit Christmas Day. My gift to you all is another very fluffy chapter in which there's an engagement party, the TARDIS is a moving van of sorts and Clara drinks too much. Enjoy, and as ever, please review, it makes my day. Have a great Christmas and thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favourited. I'll see you all, same time tomorrow, just before Time of the Doctor. Eep. TPD***

Her dad had offered to help them move in. The Doctor had been very grateful for the help, much to Clara's surprise, but quickly realised that his idea of Dave helping was to carry the boxes from the living room to the TARDIS parked in the living room. Dave made the suggestion that they buy a car. The Doctor had snorted and said he had the greatest travelling machine in the universe. Clara had pointed out that they still used the bike to get to work every day. It was decided. They were getting a car. The Doctor had grumbled that it would upset the TARDIS and that she would get jealous and hide Clara's bedroom again. Clara then mischievously replied that she would sleep in the Doctor's room. He'd snorted with laughter at that as well.

After a great deal of arguments, the Doctor throwing a hissy fit and shooting off to the moon to shoot some meteors, they had packed Clara's entire life into the back of Dave's van. It surprised Dave how little stuff the Doctor had at Clara's, a few jackets and bow ties, but that was about it. The Doctor pointed out he didn't have many possessions and that the majority of his wardrobe was usually parked just around the corner if he needed it. It still made Clara kind of sad to think about it. The majority of his life still belonged on the TARDIS and hers in the real world. She had space on the TARDIS, a room and the ship had become her home and likewise, their house was very much the Doctor's home, but he didn't have many things. His life was still on board his machine. He was still the Doctor, her Doctor. And it scared her that he could pop off in the TARDIS and never return, leaving nothing special behind. Just as she could leave the TARDIS at any time and the ship wouldn't have anything she needed in it. But that wasn't true. If the TARDIS left, she'd be missing the one thing she needed the most. And if he left, he'd be leaving behind the one thing that he needed, he reminded her when she vocalised her worries. Her.

Dave stayed the evening to help the couple unpack and the Doctor proved to be equally unhelpful and argumentative when it came to unpacking as packing. But, eventually, all of Clara's things were unpacked. The Doctor's stuff that had been in her flat was also unpacked. Then, much to Clara's shock, he did something unexpected. He disappeared into the TARDIS, which he'd parked in the back garden and came back handfuls of boxes. She gasped as he dropped half a dozen boxes on their bed, looking at her as if this was a regular occurrence.

"Be right back," he said, pointing at her in an affectionate fashion and then he ran off, down the stairs, back into the TARDIS, which dematerialised and she heard it reappear out front. Clara went pale and ran down the stairs, her father walking out of the kitchen to meet her on the front porch. What if he dumped the entire contents of his machine into her lap? Luckily, this time, he only re-emerged with a car. Wait, what? Clara did a double-take as a TARDIS blue convertible drove out of the TARDIS, onto their driveway, where the Doctor parked her and climbed out, grinning from ear to ear.

"You wanted a car!" he informed her, so I popped back to 1965 and picked up this E-type, pretty cheap.

"Is that good?" Clara asked, exasperated, knowing very little about cars. She looked at her father for help but his eyes had bulged and he was stammering.

"Clara," Dave stuttered. "A Jaguar E-type is one of the most beautiful and expensive cars ever made. They're a motorists dream. If you wanted to get one nowadays it would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds…"

Clara rolled her eyes. It was so typical of the Doctor to go overboard with these sorts of thing. She was smiling as he ran over and jumped up and down as Clara shot him a look of exasperation.

"It's not very practical is it?" she asked blithely. The Doctor looked like a child who'd been told Christmas was cancelled and Dave looked at her like she was insane. "Sorry, sorry!" she threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "I just think we'd be better off with something like a Mondeo, or a Golf or even a four door Porsche!"

"Can I have the E-type?" Dave asked and the pleading tone in his voice made Clara smile. The Doctor handed him the keys with a wistful smile and Dave snatched them up, running over to the Jaguar with a gleeful grin. The Doctor turned to Clara, hands outstretched as if to say, what are you going to do. She hugged him and kissed his cheek. He responded by kissing the top of her head.

"What's with the boxes?" she asked as they walked back inside, hand in hand, Dave a few metres behind them, still jumping up and down with delight. "I mean, is it my stuff, from the TARDIS?"

"No Clara," the Doctor looked at her, puzzled. "You felt bad that I didn't have more stuff here so I went inside the TARDIS and grabbed some things. I've got a few of my memory boxes, alphabetised of course, my diary, a few old and spare sonics, fourteen different jackets, twenty seven different bow ties, suspenders, socks, underwear, the entirety of the Harry Potter series, all 56 books, I mean 7 books," he corrected himself as Clara's eyes widened. "Some physics stuff, a project I've been working on, a book on cooking which I bought for you because frankly your efforts are below par, sorry dear!" he added quickly as she punched him. Clara did agree though, he was much better at cooking than her. "A few alcoholic drinks I've been saving for special occasions, thirty eight packs of Jammy Dodgers, my toothbrush, a list of places I've been meaning to take you to and a fez." He beamed. "Don't even ask how I fit it all in the boxes."

"Bigger on the inside?" Clara asked with a smirk, as they walked upstairs and sat on the bed beside the boxes. "I can't believe this. This is your life Doctor and you've just thrown it on our bed like it means nothing. You've never done anything like this before, why now?"

"Because, Clara," he smiled. "My life is already in this bed." He patted it for emphasis. "It'll be in this bed every day from now on. These things I have, they're just things. They're not you. I'd rather burn the whole lot than lose you. Obviously. But I decided ages ago that you're my whole life, so throwing a few things into our wardrobe is nothing compared to the commitment I've already made. I'm learning Clara," he admitted. "I'm trying to be the best fiancé I can be. If you want a car, I'll go and get you a car. If you want me to open up, I'll tell you about Gallifrey and my parents. And if you want me to move my things in, there they are. If you want a child, I'll…"

He broke off and Clara looked at him. Her eyes were wide and her adorable little mouth formed an 'O'. They sat for a moment that seemed to last a lifetime, eyes wide, both of them shocked, unable to say anything. The Doctor stood up and straightened his bow tie. Clara still sat on the bed, her only movement or change of expression was just to follow him with her eyes.

"I mean-"

"I know."

"Just if you wanted, I mean-"

"It's okay Doctor, I know." She paused, managing to shut her mouth and she stood shakily to face him. "I mean, I've not thought about it. You've had family before. You must be bored of the whole kids thing. I mean, I suppose I thought you wouldn't want anymore. But then, you're 1200, must've been a while for you. I never thought about it, kids with you. I mean, you're a Time Lord, and I'm a human, I didn't even realise we could have kids. I mean, I thought we'd be incompatible, you know? Like would any kids we have, would they not have two hearts, or be able to regenerate or would they have like three heads or something? You told me River became part Time Lord just from being conceived on the TARDIS, I mean. I never thought I wanted kids. Or I did, but I thought that would be after you…but now you're not… I mean."

"Clara," the Doctor cut her off with a smile. "You're rambling."

"Of course I'm rambling you idiot!" she yelled, hitting him. "My crazy alien fiancé with a time machine has just put the idea of having kids in my mind. Doctor, what the hell do I say to that? Other than rambling for twenty minutes on different kinds of complications that could come from having a mini-Doctor popping out of me? I'm 25," she informed him and he nodded. "If we have kids, we won't be able to travel any more, on the TARDIS. We'll stop having sex, I might have to quit my job, at least for a while. I'll get fat, really fat," she pulled a face. "I don't want kids," she turned to him, resolute in her conviction. "At least not now. I don't even want to consider the implications for the thing that pops out of me, I just want to carry on the life that we currently have. I mean, my life is perfect, I don't want to complicate it."

"Okay," the Doctor nodded.

"I mean what if you need a special Gallifreyan mid-wife and they tell you to go away because I'm just a stupid Earth girl? Oh God, does Gallifrey have a special centre where Time Lords can take their stupid primitives that they've knocked up to hide the shame of it?" she kept ranting. "Wait, did you say okay?"

"Yes Clara," he laughed. "I said its okay. You're right, I've done the whole kids thing. I don't really want to be bogged down by them. But if it was our child?" he grinned. "I'd love that little baby almost as much as I love you. And believe me when I say, that is a lot. And for the record, as far as I'm aware, no Time Lords ever ran around knocking up what was it 'stupid Earth girls'?" Clara blushed. "Well, none that I know of. I suppose they probably would keep it to themselves or just murder the girl. If it came out that it had happened, they'd be exiled from Gallifrey and stripped of their regenerations. Hell, they exiled me just for being friends with a couple of humans. And took away one of my lives. Shame, I really liked that face. Anyway, the point is, I'm here for you, whatever you ask of me."

"Can you wear that new tux I bought you tomorrow night?"

"Oh that? I threw it into a black hole." This earned him a punch.

* * *

The next night was their housing warming party. At least that's what they told everyone. Clara had invited what seemed to the Doctor like her entire family, her father's two sisters, cousins, grandparents, her mother's brother and more. All her friends, some people from work, the Maitlands and of course Dave. The Doctor's pool was considerably smaller. He'd invited Jack, Kate Stewart and a couple of old friends called Martha and Mickey, whom he'd apparently kept in touch with. The Doctor was staying away from the booze but Clara slugged away at the champagne. The party had started at eight and was in full swing by nine. Jack had been slipping nothing alien into people's drinks until Clara had caught him and threatened to shove it so far his arse that he'd be choking on it for the rest of his life. Which she assured him, the Doctor had told her was a very long time. At eleven, just as it looked like the party might wind down, the Doctor got everyone's attention. He grabbed a glass of champagne and looked around for Clara. She stumbled to his side, sloppily kissing him and taking his arm, downing the glass of champagne in his hand. He snorted with laughter and turned to the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he gulped. "Um, I'm the Doctor. Some of you know me, some of you don't. And some of you have known me for far too long and need to stop dropping hints about us getting together. It's never going to happen Jack, get over it." People whooped and cheered and Jack took a bow and blew the Doctor a kiss.

"I've got his Chin-Boy," Clara interjected, slurring her words slightly. "This is the Doctor. He's my boyfriend. Well, I say boyfriend…he's more like a child I have to babysit, except he's old enough to do other things as well." The Doctor buried his head in his hands. "Now the Doctor is without doubt the most childish idiot I've ever met," Clara continued. "I mean he once destroyed a rubber duck because it looked at him funny!"

"That was legitimate if you'll remember," he muttered in response.

"But despite the fact that he's probably more emotionally attached to his screwdriver than he ever will be to me," Clara continued. "And despite the fact that he can never get me where he promises to take me or when he promises to take me!" she said pointedly and Jack burst into laughter as Clara got a few odd looks for this comment. "And even though I sometimes wonder if he'll jump in his Snogbox and fly away, because I don't understand why he's here with me when he has the whole universe to explore…"

"Clara, getting a bit on the timey-wimey side," the Doctor muttered. "Wrap it up."

"The point is," Clara said, guzzling another glass and giggling. "Despite all the crap you have to deal with when you're with the Doctor, I'd deal with it all a hundred times over, because I love him more than anything. He's the kindest, wisest, most annoying man I've ever met and I want to spend every moment of my life with him, in his Snogbox. And that's exactly what he's giving me. I'M MARRYING A TIME LORD BITCHES!" she shrieked, before leaping in the air, a huge mistake in heels and the Doctor caught her as she tumbled. Dave's head was in his hands, Jack was in stitches, but mainly there was a general sense of confusion.

"She's very drunk, but the main thing is," the Doctor grinned sheepishly. "We're engaged."

There was an eruption of noise as people rushed forward to congratulate them. Clara was finding her feet by this point and was mobbed by her friends as the Doctor shook a lot of hands, hugged a lot of females and eventually made his way through the pack to Martha, Mickey and Jack who were chatting.

"We're so happy for you!" Martha exclaimed with a grin, throwing herself into a hug. "This is amazing news."

"Yeah, how did you score a beautiful girl like her?" Mickey asked cheekily.

"You sly dog," Jack chuckled. "Still, after what you did for her on that Dalek ship, it was only a matter of time until you popped the question. When did you ask her?"

"I have no idea," the Doctor admitted carefully. "It was only like last week in human terms, but we've been on the TARDIS for about a month and a half, so I've completely lost track of time. Funny how these things happen."

"Doctor!" called Dave. "Your fiancée just vomited on her new shoes."

"I'd better go," the Doctor grinned. "The missus needs me. If any of you need anything, or if you just fancy a trip, you know where you to find us. I have a house now. Houses are cool."

The Doctor picked his way through the crowd to grab Clara, who was being steadied by Artie and her dad. He told the crowd that they were all welcome to stay if they could find space and that there were sofas and bedrooms but it turned out that Clara's family had reserved plenty of space in a hotel within walking distance. Her family went home, the Maitlands crashed in a spare room, with Dave in the other, leaving Jack alone downstairs with Clara's female friends. The Doctor doubted the logic of that but was too focused on carrying Clara up to bed. She was basically passed out at this point, so he threw off her sickly clothes, pulled a nightgown over her head and settled her down on the bed, snatching up the bin from the bathroom and placing it by her head as she groaned. He undressed down to his boxers and slipped in beside her, stroking her hair and pulling the odd longer strand out of her face.

"Am I alive?" she muttered.

"Yes sweetheart," the Doctor smiled. "You should be called Champagne Girl after that performance. It was truly a great advertisement for alcohol. At one point you jumped up, screaming that you were marrying a Time Lord. Jack nearly wet himself. That'll be played at every family event for years."

"Oh for flip's sake," Clara groaned. "Why do I ever think drinking is a good idea? It only ever ends up with me dancing topless with fat or telling my entire family and friends that you're an alien. Explaining this is going to be a nightmare."

"Do you want me to wipe some memories?" the Doctor asked generously. She grabbed his hand and rolled over to face him.

"No," she smiled. "I'll blame the booze. But I appreciate the offer. I'll bear it in mind for the future, in case I slip up again. I love you, my Doctor."

"I love you too. My Clara. Now go to sleep, you're going to have a stinking hangover in the morning."

* * *

Sure enough, Clara awoke to her entire world spinning. She wretched into the bin and swivelled, not surprised that the Doctor was already gone. Probably making breakfast, she reckoned. She heard the TARDIS materialise and staggered to her feet and over to the window. The Doctor stumbled out and she heard him yell in pain. Clara's heart sank and tears reached her eyes. She took the stairs three at a time, ignoring three of her friends who were sat in the lounge and threw up the back doors. She ran over to him, terrified. He almost collapsed into her arms and she looked him up and down, horror-struck.

"Doctor," she asked. "What is it? Doctor?"

"Shot. Bullet. Shoulder. I'll survive. Get. Inside."

The staggered words made Clara feel both better and worse. Sure enough, there was a bullet wound in his left shoulder and one in his right hip. Jack came tumbling out of the house and swore loudly. He put his arm around the Doctor, examining his injuries.

"We need to get him into the TARDIS," he instructed. "Now. If I work fast, he won't have to regenerate."

"No regeneration," the Doctor rasped. "Last body. Last life. Jack," he pulled Jack's face close to his. "Don't let me die. For Clara's sake."

"I won't," Jack promised. And then they hauled him into the TARDIS.

* * *

***Apologies about the cliffhanger. I really want to get I'M MARRYING A TIME LORD BITCHES on a t-shirt. TPD***


	19. Chapter 19: Mortality

***Hello peeps. I'm so sorry about the late update but the site kept crashing on me and I was drowning under feels from Time of the Doctor (don't worry, no spoilers here). I hope you all enjoyed Christmas and that you all got good present hauls. As ever, thanks for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following. Now I left you on a nasty cliffhanger, which I'm going to resolve...in a bit ;) As the title suggests, this is another chapter exploring one of the fundamental problems of Clara and the Doctor's relationship. It's unsustainable. Enjoy! TPD***

* * *

_The Doctor stroked Clara's hair gently and glanced at the clock. 8:30. He wasn't going to get any more sleep that night, he didn't really need any. Clara was going to feel awful when she woke up, so he figured the least he could do was make sure she had a gorgeous breakfast waiting for her when she woke. The Doctor slipped out of bed, pulled on some trousers and a shirt and then fumbled around for a bow tie. He was as quiet as he could, so as not to wake the sleeping beauty on the bed and when he was dressed, he grabbed his waistcoat and slipped out the room. He went downstairs and peeked his head into the lounge. Jack and Clara's friends were still asleep on the sofas. The Doctor figured he had plenty of time, especially if he arrived back maybe a minute after. Nobody need know he'd been gone. He slid open the double doors and headed out into the garden. _

_The old girl whined at him as he threw open the door and walked inside. She'd been itching for a run out, he knew that much. She was resentful of his life with Clara, and how he was spending less and less time travelling with her. But she'd have to get used to that, they both would. "Now," the Doctor said as he pulled a few levers. "France, 1926, croissants, what do you reckon eh dear? Would croissants make Clara feel better? Oh who am I kidding, of course they will, fresh French croissants from 1926 would make anyone feel better." _

_He landed the TARDIS and stepped out the front doors. He'd made a terrible mistake. He was ten years too early. It wasn't 1926, it was 1916 and there was a war on. The Doctor fumbled for his key, as there were shouts on both sides. He'd landed right in between two trenches, he was in the No-Mans-Land. Bullets flew and he ducked and flattened himself against the TARDIS. He got the key in the lock and turned. He, then felt staggering pain in his left shoulder and then his world went red. Another bullet crashed into his hip and he tumbled into the TARDIS, slamming the door behind him. He delved his good right arm into his pocket and pulled out the sonic, yelling in pain as he activated the fast return protocol. The TARDIS wheezed into life as the Doctor fell to the floor, pain shooting through his shoulder and waist. He tried to stay conscious. He couldn't die. He wouldn't leave Clara behind. He couldn't do that to her. The TARDIS landed with a jolt and the Doctor roared in pain, kicking open the door with his stronger left foot and regretting it instantly. _

_"Doctor!" he heard Clara shout as he stumbled out the TARDIS, yelling in pain. He fell into her arms and he felt himself begin to blur. "Doctor, what is it?"_

_The Doctor found words difficult to come by. "Shot. Bullet. Shoulder. I'll survive. Get. Inside." He managed, as Clara was joined by Jack. They were talking above him, about him and he struggled to make out most of the words, but he heard Jack say the word: regenerate. "No regeneration. Last body. Last life. Jack," he was in agony but it was crucial that Jack understood how important it was. He couldn't bank on the Doctor regenerating, or Clara would lose him. "Don't let me die. For Clara's sake." More words were spoken as the Doctor felt his hearts weaken and his brain went increasingly fuzzy. He heard the TARDIS wheezing and the doors shutting. He could feel her breath on his face. His Clara. He couldn't see her face properly, but he could imagine it, framed with her gorgeous chocolate hair and her beautiful, deep brown eyes that he could get lost in. He reached out to touch her face but his arm failed him and it just flailed helplessly by his side. The Doctor needed a transfusion of some sort, it was a good thing he stored his own blood on the TARDIS for a rainy day. He tried to say this to Jack, but all that came out was a mumble. He felt himself being placed on a table and then he heard Jack say the word: breathe. And then what little remained of his lucidity left him and all there was left was black._

* * *

Clara was trying desperately hard not to panic, but every ragged breath the Doctor took sent a little dagger through her heart. Luckily for both of them, Jack was fully under control and took the situation in his stride. As they set the Doctor down in the medical bay, Jack told Clara to do exactly what he said when he said it and they could save the Doctor. Clara summoned all her courage and self-control and took several deep breaths. Her hangover had seemingly evaporated the moment she'd seen the Doctor in pain but it had returned with a vengeance now, spurred on by her pain.

"Just keep breathing Clara," Jack urged. "Breathe. Relax, I've got this. He's going to be just fine. Now, cupboard to your left, there should be packs of blood, hand me four."

Clara nodded and delved into the cupboard, pulling out the blood Jack asked for. She guessed it was the Doctor's, she'd seen him stick himself with needles a few times and when she'd offered to help and asked what it was for, he'd smiled wistfully and told her it was for a rainy day. She assumed this counted as a day it was pouring. Jack transfused the Doctor and smiled at Clara reassuringly. She needed that, to be reassured. Jack was such a calming presence that she almost forgot the gravity of the situation as she carried out his instructions, handing him various instruments. Clara focused all her attention on the wall when she wasn't handing Jack tools. She blocked out the noises Jack's work made, ignored the Doctor's weak mutterings and she didn't even glance at him. Jack asked him to hold out a basin and Clara tried not to vomit as he dropped a blood-drenched bullet into it.

"Hang in there Clara," Jack encouraged her. "We're nearly there now. Bullets missed everything vital, the shoulder one went straight through, the hip one lodged itself somewhere nasty but I've repaired most of the damage. I just need to tie off this bleeder, hand me that needle and thread. Clara did as he asked and accidently caught sight of the Doctor's wound. She turned away and wretched, losing control as she sobbed and vomited. Jack didn't say anything as she tried desperately hard to pull herself together. Clara took a few more deep breaths and felt an arm on her shoulder. She turned and Jack shot him a grimace.

"He's going to be okay Clara," Jack promised. "I've patched him up as best I can, but there's nothing more we can do. His vital signs all look good and he just needs to rest and recover. Then, you'll want to throw him into a pool of something restorative, his body needs to heal. How're you doing? You just saw your fiancé get shot after all."

"I'll be fine," Clara insisted, trying hard to look at anything except the unconscious Doctor. "I mean, as long as he's okay, I'll be okay. Why does this keep happening Jack? He just wanders off somewhere or he'll take me to a gorgeous planet and then next thing you know, one of us is nursing the other back to health from a serious injury. Is it always going to be this way?"

"Clara," Jack bit his lip. "You know what his life is like. He doesn't want to give up the travelling, but he'd do it in a heartbeat if you asked him to. But you don't want to give it up either I can see that. He's usually better at dodging bullets than this, but the simple truth is, you two are never going to have an easy life while the TARDIS is in play. You can get married, but that won't change the fact that the Doctor will keep getting hurt. He'll do anything to protect you Clara and he'll keep throwing himself into harm's way to save you. I know this time he probably stumbled into a war zone by accident, World War I judging by the bullet I pulled out of him, but the simple truth is, this won't be the last time one of you has to nurse the other. And I think you knew that when you signed on."

"That doesn't make it easier," Clara sighed. "It's addictive," she admitted. "He's addictive. I can't get enough of watching him strut his stuff. The truth is, the domestic stuff bores me almost as much as it bores him. I love the fact that he's willing to throw the towel in for me, but I want to spend my life on this TARDIS. Damn him," she cursed. "I bet he wanted to get me breakfast and got his times all mixed up. This always happens. Stupid machine. You hear that?" she yelled as the TARDIS whined. "This is your fault. If your stupid navigation system worked properly, he wouldn't have got shot!"

Clara stormed out the medical bay and powered through the console room, tears hitting her again now. She hated it, all of it. She hated seeing her Doctor hurt, knowing that it was probably because of her. He'd gone to get her some flowers from the 15th Century or coffee from the future or something else stupidly extravagant. He was trying so hard to impress her that he'd stumbled into World War I. She kicked open the TARDIS door, ignoring the machine's apologetic wheezes. She didn't want to hear it. She slammed the TARDIS door behind her and it dematerialised behind her. She screamed in frustration but she didn't let the tears fall until she was upstairs, in their bed and then she threw her head into the pillow and sobbed.

Clara cried for about an hour. She'd blocked out everything, thrown her headphones in and listened to music to try and take her mind off the Doctor. After what seemed like an age, there was a knock on her bedroom door and she swivelled, sitting up and her jaw dropped, her eyes widened and misting up again. It was him. The Doctor.

"Hello," he smiled apologetically. He looked weak but his wounds looked completely healed. She leapt to her feet and threw herself into his arms, which he gratefully accepted, pulling her into a tight hug and returning the fluent kiss she pressed onto his lips. "Sorry I took so long."

"You've only been gone an hour," she sobbed with joy, her head pressed against his chest. "What happened?"

"Jack took us away," he replied. "When I woke, he said I'd been out of action for a few days but that we were landing about an hour after we'd left. He did a good job of fixing me up too, I feel…refulgent." Clara smiled at this. "I took a trip to Glistening, did wonders. Jack told me that he didn't want you to see me…as I was. So he left you behind so that you wouldn't have to be there for the painful stuff. I wanted you there," the Doctor admitted. "But I didn't want to put you through that any more than Jack did. I was only supposed to nip to 1926 and pick up some croissants. Timing went a bit off…"

"You shouldn't have done that," Clara insisted. "Any of it. You shouldn't have gone to get me scones and got yourself shot and then let me skip the recovery. I mean, I didn't want to see you in pain but I wanted to be by your side so you weren't alone. You promised you'd let me put you first!"

"I said I'd try," the Doctor corrected her and this earned him a blazing look as she stepped back from him, punching him on his right arm. "I'm sorry, you're right, that's not good enough. But Clara, I didn't want you to see me like that. You didn't want to see me like that!"

"No I didn't!" she shouted. "But you got shot! So I didn't exactly have a choice! Things like this keep happening Doctor and yeah, that's hard to accept. But what's harder to accept is that I'm going to keep missing it because you're too worried about me feeling a bit queasy! What if there are complications? What if something happens? Are you going to stop me from watching you die? Would you even let me say goodbye?"

The accusations were meant to sting but Clara hadn't prepared herself for his stunned and horrified reaction. He looked like she'd punched him a lot harder than she had and in the gut and he walked over to her, burying his head against her shoulder. She bit her lip and kissed his head, feeling guilty about her harsh words.

"I would never stop you saying goodbye," the Doctor insisted. "But you shouldn't have to. I don't plan for this to happen. It just does."

"I know," Clara said quietly. "And I don't hold it against you. Not for a second. I just don't want the day to come when you don't come home. Or where you die in my arms." She frowned as she remembered something. "Why can't you regenerate?" she asked him. "You said you couldn't regenerate, that you were on your last body, what did you mean by that?"

"Time Lords only have thirteen lives," the Doctor informed her. "Thirteen is our full set. Then we die. Properly die."

"But this is only your eleventh life," Clara insisted. "You're the eleventh Doctor."

"And what about the me I don't talk about?" he asked her. "The War Doctor? He was still me. He might not have thought he was the Doctor but he was still me, he still had my life. That makes twelve. And there was one more. I was shot by a Dalek in my previous body, the one you met, Sandshoes. And I regenerated, but I siphoned the excess energy off so I didn't have to change my body, long story I had a hand, literally." Clara raised an eyebrow. "The point is, I've used up all my regeneration energy, all my lives. If I die now, that's it. And this body of mine has been fighting for a long time. I should stop."

"Stop what?" Clara almost whispered. "Stop fighting? Die?"

"No Clara," he smiled. "I'm not going to die, at least I'm not planning on it. But I should stop starting fights, I should stop with all the fighting. I should give up the travelling. Even the TARDIS is getting weary. We're battle-hardened, tired. We need to give it up, settle down."

"No." The Doctor looked surprised at Clara's vehemence but she wasn't having it. "I'm not going to listen to this pity party!" she snapped. "You're the Doctor. That's what makes you, well you. It's why you're so incredible. You should never give up, never stop fighting. Because even if you die, at least you'll have died the way that you lived. Don't get me wrong, I want more than anything for you to be safe, but if that means giving up who you are, what you are, then I don't want it. If you don't keep travelling, keep saving worlds, then who will?" He smiled at this. "You and me, we're going to keep travelling, keep saving worlds. Because it's what we do. And I wouldn't trade one month of life on that TARDIS for twenty years of normal life. More than that, I know wouldn't trade a day of it for another century of normal life."

"Clara," he kissed her lightly. "My Clara. You just keep on reminding me who I am."

"Well someone has to," she smirked. "Sometimes I think you'd forget to dress yourself in the morning if I didn't remind you."

The Doctor chuckled at this. She was probably right after all. He kissed her gently and she responded in kind, their lips barely brushing but the simple contact sent an electric pulse through both of his hearts. Clara slipped her tongue into his mouth and his forced it back, his own tongue invading her space, relishing the soft moaning that she made as he pressed his assault, forcing her back. She bit down hard and he grunted, his hands moving to her skirt as hers slipped under his shirt and raked down his back.

"Did you lock the door behind you?" Clara gasped, as his mouth moved to her neck, biting down hard and turning her on. He shook his head and went into his jacket. "I've got it!" Clara grabbed her sonic off the bedside table and soniced the door. The Doctor pulled away from her neck and for a moment they were frozen, staring at each other in longing.

"You have no idea how much it turns me on when you do that!" he informed her and then their battle resumed, Clara nibbling at the Doctor's lips to gain access and this time she put her whole body into it, wrestling him over so she was on top. Clara yanked at his trousers and they skidded off, before she removed his upper clothing. He slipped a finger up her skirt and she gasped, writhing in pleasure as the Doctor set about removing her clothing with his left hand. Clara turned her attention to his boxers and he groaned as she removed them. She kissed him again and then flattened herself on him, screaming as he flipped them so he was on top and then thrust her. She moaned and then yelled his name, as he worked to pleasure her. It always took more for him, but he was struggling to contain himself and then he erupted, roaring her name at the top of his lungs. He collapsed beside her, both of them panting and Clara kissed him gently.

"Would you two keep it down?" Clara heard Jenna yell from the bathroom. "Some of us are trying to vomit!"


	20. Chapter 20: The Jarrow Mines

***Hello peeps. Happy boxing day, and here's a brand spanking new chapter for you all. I like this chapter because for once Clara plays a real back seat role. I just love the idea that the Doctor will throw himself into any dangerous situation just to see Clara smile, and that's exactly what this chapter is about. I really hope you enjoy it. Please please review, follow and favourite and thank you so much to everyone who already has or even has just taken the time to read it. You guys are the best. TPD***

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"Doctor, is it bad?"

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't. He really did. But he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He couldn't bring himself to lie to her. Not again. He'd lied to Clara so many times and she always knew, always called him out on it. So his attempts to lie to her, to reassure her would all be in vain. There was absolutely nothing he could do to make her feel better, other than snuggle up to her and pretend that nobody would say anything about it.

"It's pretty bad," he admitted. "But it's only for twenty four hours. Possibly."

Clara's hair was green. They'd been on a lovely, pleasant trip to the Crepsylon galaxy; the garden centre of the universe, the Doctor had called it. He'd also told her not to touch anything. But the spores of one of the rarest plants in the universe, the Gyverticus, had ended up on her head, after she'd leant in a bit too close to smell it. And, according to the Doctor, the spores were lethal. So he'd rushed her back to the TARDIS and smoothed in the antidote. Unfortunately, the antidote had turned her hair green. Temporarily. He hoped.

"What do you mean possibly?" Clara's voice had taken a dangerous undertone. "How possibly are we talking here Doctor, I look like an umpa loompa."

"Well, you are pretty short and feisty and you do have green hair," the Doctor mused. Clara looked like she was going to murder him. "I checked the chemicals in the antidote, twenty four hours of fresh, Earth air and sunlight should be enough to restore your hair back to normal. Well, sort of normal. Mainly normal."

"How mainly normal?" Clara snapped, taking another dangerous step towards him.

"Oh you know, it'll be a shade of brown. Possibly." Clara was only about two steps away from hitting distance and when the Doctor stepped back she followed him. The TARDIS made a noise, but he couldn't tell whose side she was on. "There's a chance that it won't be able to correctly isolate your current starting colour and it will, well guess but there's an app for that. Probably."

"Why don't I just dye it?" Clara asked reasonably.

"Oh dye and that particular chemical don't mix, it'll erode your hair away. No you don't want that. Twenty four hours, you'll be right as rain. It'll be shinier, I promise. Nice and beautiful and shiny. Not that it could get shinier, because your hair is lovely and shiny and it's got like five different shades of brown and it's totally adorable. I love your hair. Don't worry, I'll do a thing."

"What thing?" Clara took another step forward. He only had one more step to play with.

"There's a plant that grows in the Jarrow mines of Treeox VII, which has natural restorative powers to hair. It'll make you look as if you'd never got too close to a poisonous plant that the antidote for which turned you green. It'll probably grow faster too," the Doctor added, aware that she was still sore about the volcano incident. "It's a very rare commodity, so I'll have to nip to Treeox VII to get some. So you go into school, I'll take the day off sick and go down those mines. We can regroup at the house in ten hours. Deal?"

Clara smiled at him and took the final step to hug him. He grinned at his own ability to turn a potentially dangerous Clara situation into a hug and he must've been looking a bit smug because she punched him in the arm.

"Don't get cocky Chin-Boy, if this goes tits up I'll find a way to punish you for it."

He did not like the way she was looking at his bow tie.

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Whilst it had proved impossible to lie to Clara, the Doctor could still leave bits and bobs out of his stories. Like how for example that the Jarrow mines were called the Jarrow mines because they contained Jarrow creatures, great big lumbering things that could see well in the dark and fed off lost travellers. He neglected to tell her that the reason they were a precious commodity was that hardly anyone even bothered to try securing the plant, because despite their value, almost nobody that went into the mines came out again. She didn't need to know that information, she'd only worry about him or worse ask him not to go. She would never let him live it down if her hair stayed green or worse, so he figured it was worth tackling a few dangerous monsters if it kept him on Clara's good side. He wondered if this was how married life would be, him wrestling with the most dangerous species in the universe just to make sure he wasn't sleeping on the sofa.

As the Doctor landed the TARDIS, he scanned the area. The last thing he needed was any nasty surprises. Another spaceship was parked close by, he realised and if they were friendly, which somehow he doubted, they could work together to get through the mines. He stepped out of the TARDIS and found himself staring down half a dozen guns. The Doctor rolled his eyes at this and put his hands in the air. There were three men and three women, all human by the looks of it. One of them nodded to the others and put down his gun, staring suspiciously at the Doctor.

"Who are you?" he asked, stepping forward accusingly. "My team were supposed to be the only expedition braving the trip, so what're you doing here?"

"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself, offering a hand that the man didn't shake. "I'm not here as part of any expedition, I'm not looking to steal your funds. I just wanted to go into the caves and bring back one plant for my friend. There's hundreds in the cave and you're welcome to them."

"You got any guns?" one of the women, a tall blonde snapped.

"I never carry weapons," the Doctor informed them. "But I do have a map of the caving system, including knowledge of the hot zones where the creatures tend to inhabit and I have a way to scan for Jarrow creatures. I was hoping to take a more subtle approach."

"I say we let him join us," one of the other men said, lowering his gun. "He only wants one stupid plant, let him have it. If he's stupid enough to try to enter the caves alone for the sake of one plant then frankly, that's his choice. He seems to know what he's doing though. The name's Sid. This is Frank," he gestured to the other man still holding his gun. "Jerry," the first man. "And the girls are Becky, Linda and Jamie." Becky was short and red haired, Linda tall and broad shouldered. Jamie was the blonde. Jerry sighed.

"Alright, you can join us, Doctor," he pointed his finger and stepped in close to intimidate the Doctor. "But if you try to take more than one plant, I'll gun you down. Understood?"

"Understood," the Doctor responded. He didn't deal well with threats but he sensed that telling Jerry that was a mistake. If these poachers were willing to help him get what he wanted, then he was okay with tiptoeing around them wherever possible.

"Okay, Frank and Linda, you take point with this Doctor. He claims to know where he's going. Sid, you keep your gun trained on him at all times. Becky, Jamie, cover the rear. There are three entrances to the caves Doctor, we were going to take the West entrance. You approve?"

The Doctor nodded. That had been exactly his plan. There was one hot zone near the West entrance but he planned to avoid it by taking the scenic route down, veering to the left. He informed Jerry of this plan and Jerry sneered. The Doctor sensed that these were trained killers and they had no qualms with going head to head with the Jarrow.

"The plants only grow on the bed of the underground river," the Doctor told him, showing them the map. The river itself is completely sealed, apart from one stretch about twenty metres below us, here." He pointed it out on the map. "We can avoid the first hot spot but after that there are two more we need to pass through. The Jarrow usually sleep in four hour cycles, if we leave now, we can reach the second hotspot halfway through their sleep. If we're quiet, they won't even know we're there."

There were nods and mutters of agreement across the circle. The troops filed out but Jerry grabbed the Doctor as he went to follow them.

"I don't know what kind of game you're playing Doctor," he snarled. "But no man sneaks into a deadly cave with no weapons for the sake of one hair potion for a friend. You don't want to kill those things, so I don't know what your angle is. But if you interfere with my plans, I will gun you down."

"I have a distaste for violence," the Doctor warned him, shaking him off. "I don't like men who threaten and belittle because they think they have a bigger gun. Now I am tolerating you, just as you are tolerating me, so let me be clear. I promised a friend I'd bring them a plant, so I'm going to get her that plant and if you try to stop me, then I will have to stop tolerating you. Now I don't like your way of doing things but I am willing to accept that you may shoot these creatures as long as I get that plant. But if we end up at loggerheads, then I will leave you in that cave to die. Understood?"

Jerry's eyes narrowed to slits but he gestured towards the cave and the Doctor walked over to join the others, smiling pleasantly at them as they moved into formation and entered the cave. It seemed that not all of them were as fearless or as bloodthirsty as Jerry. Linda and Sid struck the Doctor as very nervous and although Frank showed no hint of nerve, he also agreed that they should take the scenic route around the hotspot. The Doctor had clocked that Jerry was the leader but more in the sense that Clara listened to him than anything else. The others could still very much do their own thing. There were murmurs in the dark but the first half hour of their trip went fairly smoothly. They past the first hotspot and the sonic was registering nothing in the tunnels.

Then, there was a blip. Two blips. The Doctor held the group up and consulted his map and sonic. No words were spoken, but the soldiers waited with bated breath as the Doctor nodded for them to proceed, pointing to indicate that there were two creatures to their left but that they were not an imminent threat. Jerry hung back, keeping his gun trained on the area where they were coming from. The Doctor hoped that that would be that but then Jerry did something stupid. He fired a couple of warning shots. The Doctor wheeled round, furious and he wasn't the only one.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Sid hissed. "They'll hear that and come after us!"

"Good," Jerry snapped. "I've had it with the skulking approach, I want to take down a beasty or two."

There was a roar in the distance and then the two creatures came thundering into sight. They were huge, with armoured skin and very few weak spots. Jerry shot at them, letting rip with his automatic weapon as Sid tried to pull him out the way. The creatures didn't slow and Sid only just got out of the way in time. Jerry didn't. They smashed right into him, pinning him against the wall and crushing the life from him. Sid and Jamie were trapped on one side of the creatures, the Doctor and the others on the right side. The creatures split, the left one turning to face its new prey as the right one devoured the dying Jerry. Sid unleashed a hail storm into the creature's mouth, as Jamie jumped up, vaulting it and firing on its back before rolling underneath the second, penetrating its soft underbelly. The Doctor covered his ears as Frank, Linda and Becky fired on the beast and it collapsed, right on top of Jamie who screamed. Sid sighed in relief as the second creature dropped dead and he clambered over, cursing as he saw what had happened to Jamie.

"We need to move," the Doctor urged. "Fast. The others will probably have heard this, they may already be on their way."

"Jerry was an idiot," Sid said quietly. "But he was my friend. And he didn't deserve to die. Not like that. We've been on loads of missions Doctor, the sort of bond we shared, you'll never understand that."

"I know what it's like to lose people close to you," the Doctor said calmly. "But the only way we're going to survive is to keep moving. We're close to the second hotspot and there's no way around it now. We need to get through it and hope that the creatures are still asleep."

Sid nodded and they filed out, the mood a lot more sombre than it had been previously. The Doctor was angry with Jerry but he was also angry with himself. He should never have been stupid enough to come to these caves in the first place. He had been so eager to make Clara happy that he'd not thought it through. If he died down here, she would never forgive herself or him. That wouldn't do at all.

"This friend," Linda whispered as they walked. "She must be pretty special for you to crawl into this hell hole with nothing but a screwdriver and a map just so she can have nice hair."

"She is," the Doctor grinned. "She's the most special girl in the universe."

"What's her name?" Frank asked. "A girl who can make you do things like this? I'd like to be able to put a name to her for when I tell this story later on. Because it's one hell of a story. Hell, if any of us make it out alive it'll be a miracle, but you're pulling this stunt without a gun and for the sake of a girl, not for the cash."

"Clara," the Doctor smiled at the thought of her. "Her name is Clara. And if she ever finds out how much danger I put myself in today, she'll probably be a lot worse than any Jarrow."

They all chuckled at that as they reached a clearing. They fell deathly silent, no noise at all as the Doctor scanned the area and held up both his hands twice. Twenty. They wouldn't stand a chance if they woke up. They crept through, each footstep a relief as it went unpunished. The Doctor had Frank and Linda ahead of him and Becky and Sid behind and as they reached the midpoint in the room, a creature stirred and Frank panicked. He legged it, they lost formation and Linda, cursing followed him. The noise woke one of the creatures and it sat up, staring at them hungrily. The Doctor froze for an instant and then the creature roared, waking its brothers and the Doctor bolted. Sid and Becky were hard on his heels and as they reached the other end of the cavern, Frank and Linda were waiting.

"Keep running," the Doctor yelled. There was no point trying to be quiet now. "We have to try and outrun them, it's our only chance."

Sid and Becky were frantically discharging their weapons, they didn't stop to reload but just kept running. Becky swivelled and pulled a grenade, standing between the creatures and the others.

"No!" the Doctor called. "What are you doing?"

"Keep running!" she yelled. "I'll hold them off."

She pulled the grenade pin and the Doctor cursed. He wasn't the only one. Sid yanked him and half dragged the Doctor as they ran. The creatures had reached Becky but there was an almighty explosion, which threw the Doctor and Sid off their feet. The Doctor groaned and tried to pick himself up and Frank offered him a hand, which the Doctor appreciated. The way they'd come was completely blocked, the entire tunnel had collapsed in on itself. Sid cursed and punched the rock in anger.

"We need to keep moving," Linda urged and the Doctor nodded in agreement. Sid had stopped talking completely now and only the occasional comment from Linda or Frank broke their silence as they trudged down the tunnels. The Doctor was desperately trying to figure out a way back up top when they were done but all he could think about was how Clara would react if he wasn't back in the ten hours he'd promised her. His stomach twisted at the thought. They reached an intersection and the Doctor checked the map and sonic before proceeding. Within the hour, they were close to the third hotspot and the Doctor was nervous. On the other side of the hotspot was the river and that was where the creatures got most of their water. They were walking into a mine field. As they reached the third hotspot, the creatures were awake. The Doctor cursed and thought hard.

"What do we do?" Frank hissed. "There must be thirty of them in there!"

"Distraction," Sid said grimly. "We need someone to go in there and distract the bastards before they realise there are more of us. I'll do it."

"Sid," Frank gasped. "No, that's suicide."

"You three get out. Frank, Linda, you need the money more than I do. You guys have families," his voice was grim. "People who rely on you. I was only really doing it for the thrill anyway. You make sure the Doctor gets that plant for Clara, or I swear to God, I'll come back from Heaven to tell her what you were playing at," he chuckled despite himself. He pulled Frank and Linda into hugs and turned to the Doctor and shook his hand. "I might not know you that well Doctor," he said. "But you're a good man. I believe you that you're doing all this for some girl. And without you, we'd never have got this far. So good luck. To all of you."

Sid breathed deeply, raised his gun in the air and ran into the chamber, firing wildly. The Doctor couldn't watch as he charged towards the far end and the creatures followed him, clearing a path to the river. Frank was already moving and the Doctor and Linda gave pursuit, jumping into the water, which was only up to about their waists. Linda and Frank grabbed as much of the plant as they could and stuffed it into great big sacks as the Doctor plucked a single plant from the river floor and placed it into his jacket pocket. They turned, but the creatures were all now facing them. There was no way out. The Doctor looked at his map and cocked his head to one side. There was always a way out.

"What do we do?" Frank breathed. "We're trapped."

"Take a deep breath," the Doctor urged. "This river goes somewhere."

"You said the entire thing was underground," Linda snapped. "What do you think will happen if we run out of air?"

"Mostly underground," the Doctor agreed. "But the current runs this way," he pointed as the creatures reared to charge. "And we should pop out in a spring about half a mile south of here. We should only need to hold our breaths for a couple of minutes or so, maybe slightly longer. But there may be a gap between the river and the top of the tunnel."

"Sounds awfully risky," Frank said. "We don't stand much chance. I'd rather take my chances with the Jarrow."

"Then take them," the Doctor shrugged. "I'm taking the river option." He took a deep breath. "Geronimo."

He dived. Linda and Frank followed, as he knew that they would. The water rushed fast as he swam, hoping the air in his lungs would hold. They swam side by side, the tunnel wide enough to allow all three of abreast. Then, it started to narrow and Linda fell back, whilst Frank pressed on ahead. The Doctor hoped they would be alright, but he had bigger problems as his lungs began to scream. He pressed on and upwards, hoping there was some sort of gap between the ceiling and the water level. There wasn't. He was trapped and quickly running out of air. He could feel his heart stumble and he forced the last few strokes, before he needed to breathe. Then, the tunnel ended and all he could see was clear sky. He couldn't quite reach it. And then a set of arms hauled him out of the water. The Doctor spluttered for air as Frank dragged him to shore then jumped back in after Linda. The Doctor reached into his pocket. The plant was still there. It had all been worthwhile after all…

* * *

After he said goodbye to Linda and Frank, offering them his condolences for their friends, they parted ways and the Doctor flew home in the TARDIS. He landed and had time for a shower before Clara returned home. He sat on the sofa, relaxing and stretching out his aching muscles when the key turned in the lock and she entered, groaning. She poked her head into the lounge and she smiled when she saw him. He stood to embrace her and they hugged, the Doctor holding her close to his hearts.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"Rubbish," Clara reported. "The kids were less than merciful about the hair and the teachers were even worse. I've also got about a gazillion papers to mark. How were the mines? Did you get that plant thing you were after?"

The Doctor beamed as he produced the concoction. "I plucked the root myself," he smiled. "Met some lovely people down in the mine, they helped me secure it."

"Brilliant, at least one of us had an easy day," Clara grunted. "Can you cook? I'm knackered."

The Doctor's smile fell. He considered mentioning the fact that he'd stared down about fifty monsters to secure the root for Clara, but then he realised he'd rather face them again then tell her the truth, so he set about making dinner, hoping that the next time he took her to an alien planet, she'd leave the local plant life well alone…


	21. Chapter 21: The Desperate Army

***Hey peeps. Blimey I can't believe we're here already, on the home stretch. Only five more chapters after this one and we're done! This chapter is another helter-skelter action one, which most of them will be from here on out. There's plenty of fluffy Whouffle moments, but it's more a mad dash to the end then a relaxing stroll. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter and don't crucify me for another cliffhanger ending (there's still more of them to come) and as ever, please keep on favouriting, following, reading and reviewing. You guys have been amazing thus far and I hope that I can do the ending of this story justice to the support you've given me. So, here we go. And one word: Run. TPD***

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As Clara woke, she felt a chill run down her spine. It was that day. The 5th March. The day she liked to pretend didn't exist. The day she ignored. The day she wanted nothing more than lie in bed and pretend that the world wasn't happening around her. But she couldn't just lie there, helplessly. She had a job to get to and a wedding to prepare and a universe to see. She glanced at the Doctor, who was still asleep. She wondered if he'd remember. Probably, she thought. He had been there after all, at the funeral. Whether she'd known it at the time or not. She felt an odd feeling of unease at the idea of the Doctor stalking her as she grew up, popping up at various times in her childhood. What made it worse was that she joined him some of the time. Her childhood memories were fragmented, but he was definitely in there somewhere. Clara climbed out of bed and had a shower, leaving the Doctor to doze for a little while longer. She felt the hot water cleanse her and she tried not to cry as she felt her legs weaken. She sat in the shower for about ten minutes before the shower door slipped open and he joined her. She was grateful for the company in truth and they sat in silence for a while, the hot water still falling on their heads as the Doctor wrapped his arm around her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as she stood and turned off the hot water, blinking away tears.

"Fine," she replied unconvincingly. "It's always a tough day. Dad's meeting us at the graveyard at 1, during our lunch hour yeah?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied. "Are you sure you want me there?"

"Of course I want you there!" Clara choked. "It'll be nice to have a shoulder to cry on for a change. Everything between me and Dad has been so detached these last few years. I dunno, I just think it'll be nice to have a new face at the graveside. Plus, she'd love to meet you and know that I'm happy," Clara smiled and pushed past the Doctor, grabbing a towel. "Just be ready to leave for school in half an hour and don't worry about me."

Both elements of that proved to be impossible for the Doctor. He spent a good fifteen minutes in a wrestling match with the toaster that he inevitably lost and despite his best attempts, he couldn't stop Clara from being miserable. This saddened him and when they reached school, her hug and goodbye kiss were at best half-hearted. The Doctor found himself distracted that morning and after setting his desk on fire for the third time, he realised that practical experiments probably weren't such a good idea. At least, nothing involving fire. He met Clara at 12:45 for lunch and she was unsurprisingly quiet as they walked to the graveyard, meeting Dave outside. They strolled in, small talk almost non-existent as both men kept an eye on Clara, who was sombre but not crying.

"Hi mum," Clara said quietly, with Dave on her left side and the Doctor on her right. "I brought you some flowers. The usual mix, just like last year. It's been another year now and there have been times in the last 12 months where I've missed you more than ever." She paused. "Everything's changed mum. I've got a fiancé now. I'm engaged," she choked, laughing at the thought. "He's different. So different. He's an alien, a madcap alien who wears a lot of bow ties, is over 1000 years old and travels time and space in a blue snog box. But he's good to me and I love him. So much. I know you'd love him. Sometimes, I wish I could go back in time and see you again, show him off. But, I can't. Sometimes about paradoxes and time falling apart. But I just need you to know that I still love you. And I still miss you. And…" Clara was streaming tears now, her voice cracked. "I still need you. Every day. There are so many times when I'm lost and alone and confused and even the Doctor can't save me. And I need you. I always need you, to tell me that it's going to be okay. I need my mum to scoop me up and make everything better."

Clara slipped to her knees and buried her head in her hands. The Doctor stepped forward and put his arm around her. He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear: "Everything's going to be alright Clara. I'm here." She threw herself into his arms, sobbing on his shoulder. The Doctor guided her away from the grave, giving Dave a few moments alone with his wife. Clara looked up at him through misty eyes and smiled tearfully.

"I love you," she whispered. "And I know my mum would love you too."

"I love you too Clara," the Doctor replied. "And I'm sure I would have loved her too, given the chance. Do you want some more time with her?"

"No," Clara sobbed. "I'm ready to go now. As soon as Dad's done."

"Oh hell…" the Doctor hissed. "Clara, stay here."

Clara frowned but obeyed as the Doctor leapt to his feet and ran over to the path, where he was examining something, his face grave. He had pulled out his sonic and his face turned from grave to angry and she heard him yell angrily. He came storming back a minute later, his face thunderous.

"Clara," he said quietly. "We have a serious problem. The path, over there? The stones in the path are different. They've been aligned somehow. Almost like a ritual of some sort. That means that something terrible is going to happen. The sonic indicates that there are some powerful energy signatures coming from several locations nearby, and they all converge on this graveyard. We need to get out of here, now. We need to call U.N.I.T and seal off this graveyard."

Clara was struggling to comprehend it all but before she could respond, there was a knocking noise. The Doctor frowned and pressed his head to the ground. His eyes lit up with panic and horror and he ran over to Dave, pulling him away despite his protests.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Dave yelled.

"Sorry Dave, but you need to move away from that grave," the Doctor ordered. "I am so sorry Dave, but something terrible is about to happen."

As if on cue, the knocking got louder and then what remained of Clara's mother punched her way from out of the ground. Clara screamed and Dave stumbled back, horrified. He looked like he wanted to vomit as the Doctor guided them both away from Ellie's grave. The plots around Ellie began to rumble and as they ran through the graveyard, arms began to erupt from the ground all around them.

"Doctor, what's happening?" Clara yelled as they stumbled out of the graveyard and looked back to see the dead rising from their graves. "How is this possible? They're dead! You can't bring back the dead, you told me that yourself."

"No," the Doctor agreed. "You can't bring back the dead. But they aren't the people who died. Not really. They're just empty shells, reanimated with no real consciousness, just soldiers to be controlled. That's what the signals are, they're a calling to the skeletons of the long dead, summoning them."

"Why?" Dave asked desperately. "What for? What kind of monster would summon up an army of the dead?"

"An army that needs bodies…" the Doctor pondered. "An army that doesn't care where it gets the bodies from, or even that they be anything other than bones and limited flesh." His face lit up but the next words sent a chill down Clara's spine. "A desperate army. A Cyber army."

"A Cyber army?" Clara whispered. "Doctor, did you say Cyber? As in Cybermen?" he nodded grimly. "But…" Clara pulled him in, glancing at her dad and hoping he wouldn't hear. "The last time we fought a Cyber army," she said, keeping her voice as even as possible, even though she was shaking. "We had to blow up the planet."

"Yes we did," the Doctor agreed. "But we won't this time, I promise Clara. Right," he clapped his hands together. "Those bodies won't take long to get out of the graveyard, and then they'll try to head to the Cyber facility. Luckily, U.N.I.T will be here any minute. Dave, take Clara back to school, I'm going to trace the signals back to their locations and take down the Cybermen."

"If you think I'm going anywhere," Clara snapped. "You're sorely mistaken."

"Clara..." Dave butted in. "The kids will be…"

"Bugger the kids," Clara rounded on him. "I'm not letting my fiancé go up against a Cyber army all by his lonesome, are we clear?"

The Doctor was filled with a mixture of pride and agony. He wanted more than anything to protect Clara but he couldn't imagine leaving her behind. At that point, a series of Jeeps pulled up from all directions.

"Kate Lethbridge-Stewart!" The Doctor grinned. "You got here just in time. Quickly, you need to seal off this cemetery and probably more across the city, we don't know how widespread this is."

"More widespread than you think Doctor," Kate replied. "The Cyber invasion is already underway."

"Oh dear," the Doctor smiled warmly at her and then took Dave and Clara to one side. "Run!" he yelled and dragged them after him as Kate raised her hands.

"Bring them in alive," she yelled. "The Cyber leaders will want the Doctor taken to central command!"

Clara didn't even have time to consider what was going on as they ran, the jeeps swirling around them as the Doctor dragged her along with him, down the streets. They cut through alley ways and skidded round corners. After a few minutes, they'd found themselves a back street that was completely deserted. They walked briskly, Clara ready to bombard the Doctor with questions but he was already talking.

"The Cybermen must've been here a while," he mused. "They've infiltrated U.N.I.T. Odd, must've evolved from ear piece technology, some kind of neural link. Oh of course, Cybermites. They're probably in all the soldiers. The raising of the dead was stage two. They gain control of the city through U.N.I.T, then they start raising the dead. The dead go to the factories to be converted, then they already have a Cyber army when people start attacking them. They'll eventually convert U.N.I.T but they need a human military presence to uphold calm while they shepherd the people into the conversion factories."

"So they've turned all of those soldiers into puppets?" Clara asked. "Just like they did with you?" the Doctor pulled a face. "Sorry, but you know what I mean. So what, they'll start converting people next?"

"Yes," the Doctor nodded. "Once they have some working Cybermen, which those bodies will provide them, then they can seal off the city and convert the populace. U.N.I.T are just another way to make it run smoothly. Human guards, nobody suspects aliens when there are human guards involved."

"So what do we do?" Dave asked desperately. The Doctor bit his lip.

"Three factories," he muttered. "That's just in this area. They must all be connected somehow, there must be one centralised base, they can't have that many conversion centres." He fiddled with the sonic. "Aha!" he grinned. "The signals are coming from various points across the city because they're being bounced off of aerials. The Cybermen have hijacked military satellites and are bouncing their core signal around, making it almost impossible to centralise the source."

"So we're screwed?" Clara groaned. "Unless we could trace the signals back? But surely if they all have a common source…"

"Scanning all three sources of the signal would give us an edge," he admitted. "Can you help?"

Clara nodded and pulled out her own sonic, grateful as the Doctor flicked his, transferring the necessary data patterns. Clara focused on one of the signals as the Doctor focused on another. They kept walking deeper into the city, resulting in more and more satellites becoming active as they kept walking, slipping through back routes and desperately avoiding any soldiers.

"We should go back to the house," Dave said quietly. "We shouldn't be out in the open."

The Doctor and Clara exchanged a look. Dave raised an eyebrow at this but they kept walking and sonicing, neither of them willing to budge as they shot each other exasperated and annoyed glares. Dave seemed to want to interject but their silent argument carried on as the sonic gave Clara an increasingly clear mental image of where they were going.

"We can't go home dad," Clara said eventually. "U.N.I.T know where we live. They'll already have commandeered the TARDIS; they'll be waiting for us to show up. The second we do, they'll arrest us and take us the Cybermen. They'll convert us, turn the Doctor into their leader, access his knowledge of time travel and infinite knowledge of the universe and then they'll…"

"They'll be able to sweep across the cosmos," the Doctor picked up. "They'll have the power to travel anywhere at any time and invade. Imagine it Dave. Daleks? Invade their planet before they're even born and convert the entire race into Cyber creatures. Cybermen. The name is apt. They're robots. Human beings, well almost any species, sliced to bits and chopped up and what's left on them encased in metal. Never feeling, all emotion removed. No pain, no anger, no joy, no love. The entire universe with a heart of stone. And then they'd stop. The entire universe would be an emotionless, metal pit. With nothing left. That's what the Cybermen want. And if they get their hands on my brain, that's what they'll do with it. So no, we can't head home. We need to find their base, sneak in and stop them, preferably with the option of saving all the people that they haven't yet converted."

"And what about Ellie?" Dave asked, very quietly. Clara went pale, so pale the Doctor thought she might faint for a moment. But of course she didn't. She was Clara, his Clara, she didn't faint. Even at the idea of her mum becoming a Cyberman. But he didn't know what to say. There was a good chance she'd already been converted, her skeleton now housed in that metallic shell, waiting for her former daughter and husband to turn up so she could convert them. The sheer thought of it made the Doctor want to wretch. But he'd tackled the Cybermen before, he knew what horrors they were capable of. He had no intention of losing Clara or Dave to them.

"If Ellie hasn't been converted, then I'll personally bury her again," the Doctor promised. "I'll use the DNA system in the sonic to identify her and I'll leave her back where we found her. If I have to, I'll use the TARDIS to jump back and remove the coffin before the signal hits, so she isn't desecrated. I will do every single thing in my power to help her escape eternity as a Cyberman. But first, we have to find that factory and stop them converting people who are still alive. Clara," his voice was tender but firm. "Have you got a lock? I've got it narrowed to somewhere in Central London."

"I've got it down to Fulham," Clara informed him. "If we keep walking that way, will that help?"

"The signals should start to converge on themselves, loop over," the Doctor admitted. "We're only about an hour away. Dave, you should stay here, find somewhere to hide. The closer we get to that factory, the more likely we'll be to run into soldiers or worse." He bit his lip. "Clara, we have no weapons that would work against Cybermen. Only U.N.I.T do and as you might have guessed, they won't be sharing them. So if you see a Cyberman, run. If you can't escape, surrender. I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

"How?" Dave snapped. "How can you guarantee her safety? How can you think for a second that I'm going to sit here and wait whilst the two of you run into God knows what mayhem against metal men?"

"Because," the Doctor said quietly. "I'll surrender if they let Clara go."

"What?" Clara snapped. "What happened to: they'll spread across the cosmos, turning everything to metal? You'd be prepared to let that happen, just so they wouldn't convert me? That's madness Doctor, it's worse than madness it's…"

"Would you do any different?" he cut her off despairingly. "Clara Oswald, the universe is nothing to me without you in it. So, for God's sake, don't get caught or we may find ourselves living in a very metal world, very soon. Dave, I take it you're joining us?" He nodded. "Okay then, prepare yourselves, because I don't know about you Clara, but I have a fix." Her eyes widened, she flicked the sonic and they locked eyes. "Geronimo."

* * *

The heart of Fulham was almost deserted, despite the fact that it was still just about daylight. They'd been walking for hours, so dark had almost fallen. Clara had resigned herself to the fact that it was too late to save her mother but neither her nor her father had said a word about it as they walked. The Doctor had also been strangely subdued and she suspected that that had something to do with the fact that he was feeling angry and guilty about what had happened to her mum. As ever, it hadn't been his fault, but he was silently raging at the Cybermen and Clara suspected he would be merciless when it came down to it. She was very nervous about the fact that her father was with her but she supposed that it was better than letting him stay behind, where she'd never be sure if he was alive or dead. At least when he was with her, the Doctor could protect him, as he'd always protected her. As they could see the Cyber factory in the distance, jutting out between two skyscrapers, almost forlorn, by this point, there were soldiers on almost every street and slipping past them became increasingly difficult. It didn't help that they would all know what the Doctor looked like and probably would have had a good chance at identifying Clara as well.

Then, about two streets from the factory, they heard it. A rattling, clanking sound, horrifically loud against the dead of night. The Doctor and Clara exchanged a look. Cybermen. They had begun to upgrade then. A tear slipped down Clara's cheek and the Doctor wiped it away for her. She nodded her thanks and they kissed softly. They gazed out into the street and saw them, a platoon. Fifty Cybermen, all marching down the main road. The Doctor's face was white. They waited until the Cybermen had passed and then they kept moving. By this point, they were no more than a few hundred feet from the factory. Then, the Cybermen turned. And they marched back towards them.

Clara's breath caught in her mouth, Dave swore and the Doctor stepped back. The Cybermen moved towards them at an astonishing pace and the Doctor yelled to run as they legged it, the Doctor pushing Clara and Dave ahead of him. They were running towards the factory, but the doors opened and more Cybermen came pouring out, forcing them down a side road. They ran and there was a small gap in the fence, opening out into the huge car park on the other side. They were cornered. The Doctor turned to Clara and kissed her forehead. She frowned.

"You have to go Clara," he whispered. "Now. You're the only one small enough to fit through the gap." She went to protest but he put his finger over her mouth. "Don't argue, just do it. I promise, I won't let them harm your father. Go, escape. Don't come back for me. Clara, I know you want to, but get out of here. Find somewhere to hide and I'll find a way to end this nightmare. I'll come and find you Clara. Go! Now!"

By the end of his speech he was pleading, almost begging for her to go. She kissed him one final time and then the Cybermen were upon them. Clara backed away, crawling under the wire fence and into the car park, she slipped out of sight and held a position to watch what unfolded.

"You know who I am," the Doctor said quietly. "Scan me; you'll see what I'm capable of. I'll come along quietly if you let this man go. If you hurt him in any way, you'll find me less than cooperative. And, if your archives are anything to go by, the one thing you'll want me to be is cooperative. Because if you don't release him, I will grind your entire species into the dust, metal man by metal man until not even one tiny Cybermite is left. Do you understand me?"

"Confirmed," a Cyberman said. "You are the Doctor. You are designated level 4 being, you are an enemy and as such you will be taken to Cyber Command. The other is dispensable."

"No," the Doctor snarled. "He is not."

And then the Cyberman shot Dave.


	22. Chapter 22: Rescue mission

***Hello everyone! And welcome to the latest instalment of the Doctor and Clara chronicles, affectionately known as Transitions. Four chapters left after this, including the epilogue, so we're very nearly there. So, we've got a Cybermen chapter for you (but you'd already guessed that) so I'll stop rambling and let you get to it. Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. Your support made this possible. TPD***

* * *

The Doctor breathed deeply, trying desperately hard not to react. But his blood was boiling. He heard a shriek like a wounded animal, an inhuman sound that filled the night air and penetrated his very soul. And it broke his heart. Clara. He stared at the Cyberman, hatred bubbling over.

"You see, I tried to warn you," the Doctor snarled. "You could have made this easy on yourselves, but instead, you angered me. And angering me is the worst mistake you could have possibly made. I will destroy you. Every last one of you."

Then, the Cyberman shot him too.

* * *

Clara watched as they shot the Doctor. What little remained of her heart shattered and she collapsed to the ground, screaming and pounding the floor. They would pay for this. The Cybermen. She wasn't going to let them take London. Angie, Artie, Jenna, Tom, the Doctor, they were all relying on her. The Doctor was being taken to the command centre. They must've stunned him. Maybe they only stunned Dad, she told herself but the Cyberman's final words chilled her to her core. The other is dispensable. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry but instead she summoned her reserve energy. The Doctor had told her not to come after him. He could forget that. It was personal now. Clara picked herself up off the ground, still trembling slightly. She delved into her pocket and pulled out a bobble. She tied her hair up and skirted along the car park, keeping up against the wall as far as possible. She knew the Cybermen would be looking for her but she hoped that they would far too preoccupied with their Time Lord captive to focus on one stupid Earth girl. She kept low, the Cyber factory still in her sights.

Approaching the building wasn't easy, but Clara found a way onto the nearby rooftop using the fire escape system and found herself overlooking the factory. Cybermen covered every entrance, including three on the roof. But that wasn't what she was interested in. About halfway down the left side of the building was a vent cover. She could probably reach it from the fire escape down the side of the building. And the building she was on was overhanging the factory. Clara judged the distance between the two buildings. It couldn't have been more than ten feet. She could jump ten feet, easily. The fire escape was about two floors down. She could make that jump, definitely. Almost definitely. Clara took a deep breath and jumped.

She landed with a clatter, rolling forward to absorb most of the impact. She crumpled into a heap, everything stinging and aching in pain. But she had made the jump and she didn't think anything was broken. She gingerly picked herself up, despite the pain. She'd been in far more pain than this and she had been far less determined back then. Now they had the Doctor and, if he was still alive, her father and she would do whatever was required to save them. Clara hobbled over to the edge of the fire escape, and reached. She'd have to jump again to reach the vent, but first she'd have to get the cover off. That was the easy bit, she supposed, brandishing the sonic. She swung herself out onto the outside of the rail and jumped again, grabbing hold of the metal and hauling herself into the space where the cover had been. She just hoped that the Cybermen weren't investigating the racket she'd made jumping and then letting the vent cover fall to the floor.

Clara crawled on through the vent, with absolutely no idea where it was taking her but grateful that at least she was inside the building. She reached another grate, which she dismantled with the sonic and pulled inside the vent rather than letting it fall. She cursed under her breath. There were machines, hundreds of them and she was directly above them. She looked down and saw the corpses being…there was no word for what the Cybermen were doing to them. She desperately managed to avoid vomiting as she pulled herself back into the shaft and breathed deeply. This wasn't going to be pretty. Aching, Clara moved herself onwards.

* * *

The Doctor stirred and the first thought he had was: tied up. Obviously his reputation preceded him. He tried to move his hands or legs but the chair he was strapped to did a sufficient job of protecting him. Dave was in the chair next to him, still passed out, or so the Doctor hoped. He was in a large room, obviously the command centre. Kate was stood nearby, unmoving with two U.N.I.T soldiers on each door. There were three Cybermen in the room, two of them evidently damaged and old, the other was sat down, strapped into the command module itself. The Cyber-Controller or Cyber-Leader. Cyber-Something. Kate smiled warmly at him and he fixed her with a glare.

"So are you the mouthpiece?" he asked snidely. "The Cybermen's communication device? The Cyber-Controller there tells you what to say and you just say it? That seems like an awfully efficient system, though personally if I had somebody as powerful as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart under my control, I'd do more than use her as a glorified walkie-talkie but hey-ho. What's with these two? Little bit old-fashioned aren't they? In need of an upgrade?" he spat, the last sentence full of hatred.

"They are a reminder of where we come from," Kate replied. "Heroes, the only remnants of the last Cyber war. A war that you destroyed us in. They remember, they keep us going. They are symbolic. But they are useless. Damaged. There is nothing left to upgrade."

"Oh so they're just there as statues, nothing more," the Doctor acknowledged. "Okay, at least that's two less Cybermen to worry about. So, you're in control of the entire city, presumably from this spot. Have you got any other factories?"

"Two more are in development. Within the week, the entire city will be ours," Kate replied with a snarl. "But, if you surrender your brain to us Doctor, we shall have the planet in a day. If you do not, then we will kill the male."

"Ah, so Dave is still alive," the Doctor smiled at this and glanced worriedly at Dave. He had to find a way to escape, or at the very least stall until Clara arrived. And of course Clara was going to arrive, she wasn't going to leave him here, despite the fact that that was exactly what he'd asked her to do. That was before they shot her dad, in any case. "That saves time. At least your brainless army heeded my warning. Okay, but I have another condition."

"No conditions," Kate snapped. "You will give us your brain or we will kill him."

"No, you won't!" the Doctor retorted. "You can't take my brain by force, you know you can't. I have to let you take it. And if you kill Dave, you have no bargaining chip. Your entire strategy hinges on my compliance, so you'll do this one little thing for me or I will burn any Cybermite that tries to get into my head into oblivion, are we clear?" There was no response. "Good. Ellie Oswald," the Doctor took a deep breath. "She has a very specific genetic code, luckily I have it encoded into my screwdriver. You will release her corpse. One corpse. You will return it to its grave and I will give you my brain. Think about it, you take me, you can have the entire universe. What's that for one dead human?"

"Emotions," Kate snarled. "They make you so weak Doctor, that you would forgo all strategic advantages for sentimental reasons. This is why Cybermen are superior. We will always be superior, we are upgraded beyond your petty desires. You can have this human corpse. We have run the name and DNA strands from the screwdriver through our data banks and isolated the girl. She will go back to sleep."

"I want proof," the Doctor riposted. "Show me. When I see Ellie Oswald back in her grave and her husband Dave," he pointed. "Is released, then and only then will I surrender."

"Enough!" Kate interrupted. "The male will be released when I say he will be released. Now, we have been good enough to let you have the female, you will obey the Cyber-Controller. You will give us your brain."

The Doctor struggled against his bonds. He was utterly powerless. But at least he'd bought Clara some time. He just prayed that, wherever she was, she had some sort of plan. It wouldn't take Ellie long to go back to her grave and when she did, the Doctor was out of time.

* * *

Clara had decided that the stench was the worst thing. The smell of rotting, burning flesh, combined with the cold, clinical tang of metal, like some sort of deranged hospital. She could almost blot out the mechanical grindings and screaming, place it down to machinery, but the smell of dead humanity and Cybermen filled her nostrils, making her gag. It was the most horrific thing she'd ever smelt and this after crawling through a sewer with the Doctor after he got them lost in England in the 1700s. She'd had to burn her clothes. She kept crawling, but it was just machine after machine, more Cybermen, always Cybermen. She'd doubled back on herself to try a different route at least half a dozen times, clambered up and down but there was no sign of the Doctor or the commanders. She was almost ready to give up, when she spotted a small off-shooting tunnel from the main one, sprawling off to the left. She scampered down it, paranoid that any moment she would have a Cyber fist shooting up through the vent or that she would be shot down or the vent would collapse and she would fall into one of those machines. She would become the living nightmare that was haunting her every moment as she crawled. She felt a shiver run down her spine.

She heard a voice and stopped as she reached the end of the vent. It was him. The Doctor. She was directly behind and above him and he was strapped to a chair, she could see through the bars of the vent. She didn't dare remove the bars, there were three Cybermen and four U.N.I.T guards in the room, plus Kate and someone else strapped to a chair. She couldn't quite make them but they looked like…her heart skipped a beat.

"Dad," she whispered, so only she could hear. She bit her lip and strained to hear the conversation. Kate was obviously talking on behalf of the Cybermen, threatening Dave unless the Doctor gave them access to his brain. She needed to signal him somehow. His screwdriver was on one of the side panels, so she couldn't use that and he would never be able to reach his psychic paper in his current position. Clara thought hard. Then she took a deep breath.

'_Undo the Doctor's hand ties,' _Clara thought, pointed her sonic at the Doctor, whose hands were tied behind his back. She couldn't see his face, but as the bonds slipped down, he gave her a thumbs up. He kept his hands in position. She needed his help. She needed him to guide her. She needed…Clara mentally hit herself. She didn't need him. He hadn't been there when her mum had died. He hadn't been there, because he hadn't found her yet. She had lived for 24 years without the Doctor. She had handled Artie and Angie and losing her mum. She had got a teaching degree. All of that, real life. That was so much more difficult than staring down a few tin cans. Clara took a deep breath. She could do this. She was going to save her father, the Doctor and humanity. She pressed the sonic against the vent shaft and activated it. The shaft collapsed to the floor and Clara dropped out, pointing her sonic directly at the Cyber-Leader. At least, she assumed it was the leader, it was plugged into all the computers. The soldiers aimed their guns but Clara took control.

"Stop!" she yelled. "The Doctor has my DNA encoded onto his screwdriver. Which means I have his DNA on mine. I can use this sonic pulse to knock out all his brain activity. And you need his brain right? So if I take out his brain activity, what are you going to do eh? No Cyber-Controller that can give you the universe. So, make one move towards either of them, and I fry the Doctor's brain."

Her lie was very convincing, as the soldiers lowered their guns. The Doctor was smiling, she could tell, even though she wasn't looking at his face. She walked over to her father and soniced the bonds holding him. It made no difference as he was still slumped against the chair but at least he was freed. Kate stared at Clara in loathing.

"We appear to have hit a stalemate," she snarled. "So we'll let you take the old man and leave us the Doctor."

"No chance," Clara snapped. "In fact, I think the fairest way of this is you accept defeat. Release all the people you've captured. Because, unless I'm mistaken, the only people in this room with functioning guns are in fact people, yes? You have two broken Cybermen and one controller without a weapon." Kate's eyes narrowed. She seemed to be running the situation over in her mind. "And the only thing controlling the people is the Cybermites. Am I right Doctor? Because, although I don't understand it, there's a program in here," she indicated to the sonic. "Called the anti-Cybermite program."

"I didn't want to interrupt," the Doctor replied. "You were on fire Clara Oswald, and you know how much it turns me on to hear you talk science. Presumably you've been interacting with the sonic telepathically?" She nodded. "Well yes, I hacked the Cybermite signal and with a powerful enough pulse, Clara can knock out every Cybermite in the room. Of course, her screwdriver isn't powerful enough to do it on its own," he paused at this point, as Kate tried to catch up. "So it's a good thing I have my arms free, isn't it?"

Kate yelled for the men to raise their guns but the Doctor was already diving forwards as Clara ducked. He grabbed his sonic and wheeled, activating it, Clara following his lead as the room was filled by the overwhelming pulse. Kate screamed and the men yelled, all collapsing and grabbing their heads in pain. Clara winced and the two Cybermen's heads seemed to overload and explode. They were obviously crawling with Cybermites too. The Doctor pulled Clara into a quick hug and then they turned to the Cyber-Leader, which was frantically calling for reinforcements.

"Nope," the Doctor shook his head, diving forward and sonicing. "Clara, if you could, be a dear and help me disconnect this one from the main network. We need to seize control before it's too late." She rounded the chair and they yanked and pulled at all the wires as the Cyber-Leader wheezed and groaned. As it felt itself pulling away, it stood, but it wheezed in pain as Clara snatched up one of the soldier's guns and fired. This earned her a raised eyebrow from the Doctor.

"Someone had to shoot it," she apologized. The Doctor bit his lip and kissed her forehead. "So now what?" she asked.

"Now," the Doctor fumbled. "We send out the disconnect signal. Plug the sonics into the mainframe, disconnect all the Cybermites, any lingering Cybermen and general Cyber technology. Shut it down, all of it. We let this lot," he pointed at U.N.I.T. "Deal with the mess and when they ask where we were tomorrow morning at school, we point at the news and say that we got caught at a graveyard where dead people were coming alive. Another alien invasion saved. And we find the TARDIS. Because she can't be far away. Your dad's fine, by the way," he grinned at this and she beamed. "But I guess you knew that already?" She nodded. The Doctor turned to her properly now, putting his hand on her cheek tenderly and staring into her eyes. "Clara, you saved me. And him. And everyone. You did it."

"What can I say Chin-Boy?" she teased. "I couldn't have done it without you," she informed him. "You kept yourself alive, you kept my dad alive, your screwdriver, still," she giggled. "I may look like I know what I'm talking about but mostly I just point this at things and think something vague like: disable Cyberman or rescue Doctor."

"But," the Doctor insisted, as he turned back to the console, finishing up and admiring his handiwork. "You came back. And you crawled through those vents, which can't have been easy and you're limping so you clearly fell at some point and lest we forget you jumped out of that vent and told the Cybermen you would melt my brain. That took unimaginable courage, not to mention bare-faced cheek."

"Well, I thought, what would the Doctor do?" Clara giggled.

"Your mother would be so proud of you today," he said tenderly, pulling her in closer to him. They kissed, tenderly and just for a moment and then he pulled back, smiling warmly at her. "Now let's get your dad home."


	23. Chapter 23: Final Preparations

***Hello everyone! I'm getting a very odd feeling publishing these chapters, as each one that goes up leaves me with one less to post. There's only three left now, the three part finale with epilogue. It's been a pleasure to write and I'm actually really upset that it's almost over. Keep your eyes out for spin-offs, I will definitely return to this world in some degree, even if it's just to see some of the Doctor and Clara's adventures at various points. I can't really say anything about how it's going to end, except that this chapter is most definitely the calm before the storm. This is a nice, fluffy and somewhat humorous chapter, because after this, it's a mad dash to the finish, with tons of action and emotion. The last chance to smile and breathe before I break some hearts. Enjoy and as ever, thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favourited, reviewed or even just read this story. You guys have been amazing. See you tomorrow TPD***

* * *

The Doctor sat back, not doing anything. He made no movement, no attempt of any kind to help, stop or guide Clara. He had promised both her and himself that he would not intervene with this unless their lives depended on it, as it was an important step for both of them. He didn't flinch, moan or whine he just stood motionless like a statue, even resisting the urge to imperceptibly nod, knowing that Clara, being Clara, would pick up on it. And she was magnificent. She remembered everything he'd taught her, reacted quickly and with pure instinct and as the TARDIS came to a slightly bumpy landing, she looked to the Doctor with her big, wide eyes, desperate not necessarily for his approval, but just to know that what she'd done had in fact not almost got them both killed. The Doctor allowed himself a smile and indicated for Clara to take the initiative. She clicked her fingers and the doors crashed open. She stuck her head out. Her father was still sat out in the garden, feet up, reading, just as he had been when they left.

"How long were we gone?" she asked, stepping out of the TARDIS with the Doctor two steps behind, shutting the doors with a huge grin on his face that he hoped Clara couldn't see. She'd done it perfectly.

"Two hours," Dave replied, flicking down his book to nod at them. "How long were you supposed to be gone?"

"Two hours," Clara replied, unable to keep the glee out of her voice. She swivelled to face the Doctor, whose joy reflected her own. "I did it," she said quietly, almost disbelievingly. "I flew her. I actually flew her. Really, actually, flew her. And we didn't crash into Jupiter or anything! We just jumped forwards, two hours into the future, just like I told her to. Doctor," she jumped up and down and hugged him. "I flew the TARDIS!"

"Yes," he replied, kissing her passionately. "You most certainly did. My impossible girl. You flew the TARDIS! I am so proud."

Clara squealed with delight and patted the outside of the TARDIS affectionately, which earned her a snort of laughter from her father who rolled his eyes and went back to his book. Dave had been pretty shaken up by the incident with Cybermen a few months back, so it was good to see him relaxing again. The summer holidays were on the horizon, they had an August wedding planned and everything was going well. Clara managed to compose herself as they headed inside the house and sat down for breakfast. It was already 10:30, and they had a busy day ahead of them.

"Okay," Clara clarified, glancing up and down the list. "So we're meeting Jack and Jenna respectively so we can ask them to be best man and maid of honour." The Doctor nodded. "That's at 1. Then, we're regrouping at 3 for a meeting with the florist, remember she's coming here this time, I know you, you'll end up at the flower shop…"

"I don't see why I can't secure the flowers," he grumbled, devouring his omelette. "The whole of space and time is our back garden!"

"The florist is one of the best in the business, any possible flower you can want, she can get," Clara told him with an eye roll. "Not everything has to be showy-offy. Okay, then we're meeting the cake designer at 5 and yes, we have to use a cake designer."

"Look, can't I have one of them?" the Doctor tried again. "You've got location, flowers, decorations and cake! And catering! I just want one job where I can take the TARDIS and go so extravagant that nobody will know what hit them!"

"If I give you flowers," Clara informed him reasonably, as she took a mouthful of pancake and swallowed. "You'll poison half the guests with some strange plant toxin. If I give you catering, you'll poison half the guests with some strange food toxin. If I give you location, half our guests will suffocate, can you see where I'm going here?"

"Well what can I do then?" he sulked and Clara bit her lip, thinking. Then, she smiled warmly and rubbed his arm.

"Honeymoon," she whispered and his eyes lit up. All thoughts of cake and flowers were forgotten as his head span a million ways to Sunday. An entire week of the most romantic locations in the universe. He still had five left on his list and he'd been saving them for a special occasion. Well four of them he'd been saving. He suspected that he'd never be able to take Clara to Gallifrey. But if he could, just once…

"So, we've got dinner with the planner at 8 to review the situation so far," Clara finished. "Does all that sound alright to you Doctor? Is there anything you'd like to add?"

"Um yes," he grinned. "At 10, can we go to the lost city of Atlantis?"

"Stop making things up!" Clara scolded. But at the look on his face she wilted, inevitably asking the question that he'd been waiting for her to ask and that she had been dying to ask from the moment he said the word Atlantis. "Is the lost city of Atlantis real?"

"Of course not, don't be stupid."

She hated when he did that. He'd get her hopes up with some sort of ludicrous statement of fact that could never be true. But, because he was the Doctor, and that was what the Doctor did, she'd believe him, allow herself to believe his insanity, only for him to look at her like she was stupid for even suggesting such a silly thing could possibly be true. Then he'd smirk, a smug little grin that he did that indicated that he had one over on her. He was doing the smirk now and Clara glared at him in response as Dave contributed another snort to the conversation.

"So where do you want to go?" Clara sighed, running a hand through her hair exasperatedly.

"I dunno, I'll think of something," the Doctor hadn't wiped the smirk of his face and straightened his bow tie, much to Clara's chagrin. "Something awesome." He winked at her and Clara giggled despite herself. "See, Clara Oswald, you know you can't resist my charm."

Clara rolled her eyes and punched his arm playfully. She took another bite of her pancake and snorted it out as he pulled a funny face at her. Another smug grin enveloped his face and Clara took a spoonful of golden syrup and flicked it at his face. He ducked and looked very proud of himself, even as the next spoon collided with his overly extravagant chin. He frowned, half-confused, half-annoyed and before he could react, Clara had tipped a cup of sugar over his head. She legged it and was almost at the bedroom door when he soniced it shut, blocking her escape. She whipped her own out and unlocked it, the Doctor cursing as she slipped into the bedroom and went to shut the door. It burst open and the Doctor had her pinned on the bed, laughing like a madman. He whipped a pot of Nutella, Clara's most hated of all spreadable foods out of his pocket and Clara squealed as he emptied the contents over her face. He grinned smugly and let her go as she glared at him. He couldn't see the glare through the thick layer of goo on her face but she knew he'd know that she was. He chuckled and headed into the shower to clean up. Clara frowned. He wanted her to join him. Well tough luck Mister, she thought, and she went into the main bathroom, wondering exactly how long it would take the Doctor to realise he wouldn't be getting her in the shower alongside him. She allowed herself a smug grin at the thought as she slipped underneath the warm water.

* * *

"So Doctor," Jack goaded as they ordered and the waiter wondered off. "I take it that this isn't just a social call?" He shook his head. "So, what can I do for you? Guns? Do you need a marksman for some sort of top secret mission? Or is it a different kind of top secret mission, as in the kind that would involve surprising the soon to be Mrs Doctor?"

"Neither," the Doctor chuckled. "Unless you have some sort of secret mission you'd like to suggest because otherwise my day is dealing with annoyingly banal humans who are paid to do things that I'd much rather do myself in the TARDIS. Like collect flowers, or make cakes or plan our wedding! And they all look at me like I'm completely insane whenever I suggest anything. I mean, who doesn't love a four-dimensional cake? Seriously?"

"I love 4D cake," Jack admitted. "But it's not really something that they have on Earth yet…"

"Exactly!" The Doctor threw his hands in the air exasperatedly. "I could get 4D cake, but Clara's all like: 'Nooo, you'll poison my family' or 'Nooo, people will get suspicious'. It's almost as if she knows that letting me a plan a wedding is the most insane idea in the universe. But even if it is, I should still be allowed a say right?"

Jack rolled his eyes. He put his hand on the Doctor's arm to reassure him and the Doctor flinched from the touch, eyeing Jack suspiciously as if expecting some sort of super-intense flirt. "Clara is letting you have a say Doctor," Jack told him. "But this is Earth and this is her wedding. Don't get me wrong, she wants it to be perfect and she wants you involved, but she also wants to not have to deal with aliens or U.N.I.T or her entire family having food poisoning. I'm guessing that when after the wedding, she'll go anywhere in the universe with you and that she'll eat the finest cake you give her, accept the finest flowers. But just let her put on a show for her family and friends, the people who don't know the real you and then the two of you can go and do your thing. I know it's not ideal but you don't want everyone finding out who you are, you'll never be able to escape it. So, why did you ask me here, other than to bitch about your wife to be?"

"That's your job isn't it?" he chuckled. "I mean, I'm making you my Best Man, so you have to kind of listen to me when I'm annoyed and then explain to me how to fix it. Also, she's human. You understand them better than I do. Well, their moods anyway. I'm pretty sure I have their biology, capability and history down better than you do." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Well of course I'll be your best man," he grinned. "If only because that means I get to rig you up with an absolutely bitching stag night!" The Doctor looked as though someone had just explained to him the ins and outs of alien reproduction. "Oh relax, it'll be fun. Mickey Mouse can come if he likes." This at least raised a smile from the Doctor. "So it's settled then, Clara will be having a hen night as well remember."

* * *

Clara's hen night was turning out to be a memorable affair. Jenna had organised the whole thing, with the help of Billie and all the girls were having a wild time. Cocktails at a gay strip club, with plenty of male action around her, but Clara couldn't help think they were all a bit too…confident. None of them were even remotely awkward and the most turned on she felt all night was when one of them slipped over and she imagined the Doctor stumbling and bumbling. She'd hoped that at least one of them would be wearing a bow tie, but alas.

"Oh. My. God!" Billie was yelling. "Clara, you have to come and see this, it's all over the news."

"What?" Clara staggered drunkenly over to where the girls were staring at the television. She thought it was odd that with so many half-naked men around, they were focusing on the news but so was everyone else apparently. She glanced at the screen and could make out her name. Ah, the Doctor had engraved her name somewhere stupid.

"That's me?" she groaned. "Clara Oswald. Oh for goodness sake, people need to relax. Where has the idiot engraved it this time?" People were looking at her in shock. Billie's jaw had hit the floor and Jenna looked like her eyes were going to pop out of their heads. "Guys, come on, he's on his stag do," she laughed. "I'll get him to clean it up in the morning, I promise."

"Clara," Karen interjected weakly. "That's on the surface on the Moon…"

"_WHAT?!" _Clara exploded, stumbling slightly as she reached the bar. "Oh for fuck's sake! Someone get me a shot. This is what happens when you hand the entirety of time and space over to a love struck idiot who can't handle more than two bottles of tequila! I bet he thinks this is so funny. Well he's not going to like it when I get my hands on that TARDIS of his. Let's see how he likes his chin being splashed across the pyramids! What are you all looking at?!" she yelled.

"You think the Doctor did this?" Billie said slowly. "Your Doctor…"

"Yes," Clara snapped as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course he did, why, who else do you think would do it. Do you know anyone else who has a spaceship and is love with Clara Oswald?"

"Clara, you think your fiancé has a spaceship?" Catherine snorted. "Someone's a lot drunker than we thought. Besides, what on earth makes you think it's your name? It's just a bunch of squiggly circles."

"Ohhhh," Clara grinned and clasped a hand on each of Karen and Jenna's shoulders. "It's Gallifreyan, he wrote it in Gallifreyan. Awww, that's so sweet of him," she cooed.

"You think your fiancé has a spaceship and wrote your name on the Moon in a made up language?" Billie clarified and all the girls exchanged a look. "No more rum for you."

Clara wanted to protest but then she realised exactly how crazy she'd been sounding and exactly how stupid she'd been. Alcohol was clouding her judgement. She shrugged and ordered another round of shots, downing hers and lurching, trying hard not to vomit. "Oh shut up," Clara grimaced. "It's my hen night."

There was a wheezing sound in the background that Clara recognised all too well and the doors to the club crashed open. The Doctor stumbled in, Jack and Mickey in tow. He looked very smug, which she guessed had something to do with the fact that her name was sprawled on the Moon in a language that only the two of them could understand. No wonder her friends thought she was hammered. He clasped his arms around Clara and she jumped into him, snogging him senseless as Jack and Mickey went up to the bar, the latter stumbling.

"Ladies," Jack put on his best smile and they melted. "I believe we've met before. Captain Jack Harkness. This is my friend Mickey the Idiot. He's had a little too much to drink. Can't handle his alcohol as well as the big dogs." At this point, the Doctor slipped and fell, taking Clara with him and they both lay on the floor, unable to stop laughing. "Big dog," Jack clarified. "Ah, I see we made the news. Mickey," he glared. "I told you that you got the last symbol slightly off. It probably says Clara Oswalp."

"No!" Clara called from the floor. "It says Oswald, you got it just fine Mickster." Mickey shot Jack a smug look as Jack ordered three shots of whiskey and three shots of tequila. "You!" she pointed accusingly at the Doctor as he picked her up. "You promised no more drinking and TARDISing!"

"Did I?" he looked smug. "It must've slipped my mind. I tend to forget things after a few hundred years or a few hundred glasses of…what was it Jack?"

"Fairy juice!" Jack informed him, winking at the disbelieving girls. "Google it," he added.

"You're all completely mad," Karen chuckled.

"Definitely," Jack replied. "It makes life more fun." The shots arrived and Jack downed all six, ignoring Mickey's dismayed look. "Now then, which of you lovely ladies is single? Seeing as this doofus went and got married," he pointed irritatedly at Mickey. "I'm going to have to settle for a girl tonight. You look feisty," he winked at Jenna, who showed him her engagement ring, twisting it and biting her lip in restraint.

"Stop it!" the Doctor stumbled over, Clara in tow. "Ignore him ladies, he's from a place that's a little more…sexually free than us."

"America?" Catherine interjected with a raised eyebrow.

"No!" said both Clara and the Doctor as Jack said: "Yes."

"Would you please take those two home?" Jenna asked him with a chuckle. "They're both so hammered that they're delusional. They think the writing on the Moon was his handiwork. And that it says her name."

"Now why on Earth would they think that?" Jack asked, shooting a look at Mickey who snorted into the beer he had ordered. "Don't worry ladies, I'll remove them from your presence. The great and bold Captain Jack will happily sacrifice his own happiness to defend the honour of the happy couple."

"More like the dignity of the happy couple," Billie snorted, pointing to where the Doctor and Clara had gotten onto the stage and were kissing. "They're about to get it on, on that stripper pole. Actually, on second thoughts, let them do it. This will be the best blackmail material we'll ever get on Clara."

"They obviously missed the topless Zocci video," Jack muttered to Mickey. "And so did you," he added, upon seeing the shock on Mickey's face. "I managed to hijack a copy, I'll send it to you later."

At this point, Clara had thrown the Doctor into a chair and was performing a fairly poor and extremely hilarious strip tease routine on the pole in front of him, failing miserably at the dancing part and just regularly removing bits of clothing. Luckily, they had bought out the place for the night, so the owner didn't care what went on, so nobody made any attempt to stop Clara, until the Doctor stumbled onto the podium and threw her to the floor before climbing on top of her. Clara was down to her underwear at this point and their kisses were animalistic.

"Alright," Jack chuckled. "Enough is enough. I'll see you ladies at the wedding in a few days. One of you gets to be the lucky bridesmaid who hooks up with the Best Man," he winked at them all and it took all the restraint a couple of them had not to throw themselves onto him. Jack pulled the Doctor off Clara, who looked disappointed and dragged them both by the arm out of the bar, throwing them into the TARDIS.

"So!" the Doctor grinned. "Planet of the bow ties?!"

"No Doctor," Jack chuckled. "Home for you two. Mickey and I will take your guest bedrooms, I suspect Martha won't want to be woken by you stinking of booze and sick."

"Why would I stink of sick?" Mickey protested. "I've not been sick!"

Clara took this opportunity to vomit down him. She smiled apologetically and the Doctor roared with laughter before vomiting all over Clara, who looked stunned and livid.

"You're going to pay for that one Doctor," Jack chuckled. "The missus is never going to forgive you for that little blunder."

"I know," he wailed. "I just cleaned her yesterday as well! I'm so sorry dear!"

Everyone shot him a very odd look at him at this and he wondered what all the fuss was about. Then, it clicked.

"Oh, you were talking about Clara," he chuckled and then his face dropped. "I was not talking about Clara. I was talking about the TARDIS. Absolutely definitely talking about the TARDIS. She's going to be furious. As I said, I just cleaned that floor. Clara, apologise to the TARDIS. You were sick on her as well."

"Bite me."

"Looks like you're in the doghouse with your fiancé and your ship Doctor," Jack grinned. "If you fancy breaking up with one of them, I have a vortex manipulator you could use on the sly and a group of Icelandic men waiting in my apartment. Something tells me that they'd warm to you, all of them wear bow ties."

Clara looked like she wanted to kill someone. The Doctor hoped she'd choose Jack, rather than him. It looked like it might be Mickey's lucky day, as he'd be promoted to best man duties. Oh crap, the Doctor thought as she turned to him. It looks like she'd chosen to let Jack live after all.

"Clara, I am the Oncoming Storm!" the Doctor protested and then he vomited on her again.

"The Oncoming Storm can sleep on the sofa tonight," Clara informed him as they landed and she stormed out the TARDIS, tripping at least three times on her way to the door. "And he can clean up his own damn ship." She slammed the TARDIS door behind her and the Doctor went over to the console.

"Shhh," he cooed. "It's alright dear, she didn't mean it. She doesn't want to slam your doors. I'll clean you up and you'll be right as rain I promise."

"Do you sometimes wonder how Clara puts up with him?" Mickey asked, raising an eyebrow.


	24. Chapter 24: The Wedding of the Doctor 1

***So here we are. The final hurdle, the end game. Part 1 of a three part finale. I have nothing left to say, except that this is The Wedding of the Doctor and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. And if you end up a quivering wreck on the floor, I'll have done what I set out to do. Geronimo. Thanks for reading, reviewing, following and favouriting. Two days left, two chapters to put up and I'm getting strangely emotional about the whole thing. TPD***

* * *

The Doctor sensed he had been here before. He was travelling with a girl who had run away with him on the night before her wedding. Only this time, the girl running with him was the girl he was going to marry and the wedding they were running from was his. Clara Oswald, the impossible girl. His impossible girl. Everything was all set up, everyone was ready. Everyone except the bride and groom. Clara had asked for one last trip before they married. So he'd obliged her. Only one trip had turned into two and suddenly, it had been a few days and they were still on the TARDIS. The Doctor promised that the next trip would be the last but he wasn't sure if either of them believed that. The TARDIS touched down and the Doctor stepped out, checking the atmosphere was safe. The planet they were landing on was notoriously volatile at certain points in its time stream and he didn't want Clara to choke.

"Nope," he yelled. "We're fine, you can come out of the TARDIS now! I give you, the planet of the Horned People. I mean it has some other boring, registered name something stupid like Orion Beta Slash Acorn Fifteen. But planet of the Horned People is both cooler and more accurate."

She stepped out and looked around in awe. The planet had a rich, green sky and a blue star, which shone in the sky and reflected off the beautiful purple lakes. There were herds of what appeared to be three headed wildebeests running around and the birds that flew in the sky were like reptiles. Clara drank it all in in an instant and turned to the Doctor, excitedly.

"So where are the Horned People?" she asked, excitedly. "Are they primitives? Or do they have proper technology, like we do on Earth?"

"They," the Doctor pulled a face. "Will be approximately three miles in that direction," he pointed behind the TARDIS, where their view was blocked by a grassy hill. "And they're an intriguing people, the Horned. They have technological capabilities that advance far beyond Earth very quickly but they have a very limited social and political structure, based on the ancient belief that their entire society is waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Clara raised an eyebrow.

"Their Queen." The Doctor took her hand and motioned for them to walk as he talked. "The Queen of the Horned is a legend, based down through generations. Their technology is incredible, but they have very limited uses of it. They firmly believe that their entire society needs to worship the one true Queen who will descend from the sky to rule over them. The one true Queen has been elected many times, but none have survived the process…"

"What process?" Clara didn't like the sound of this one bit.

"Well, many have nominated themselves, claiming to be the Queen. Once they are nominated, they are buried alive, in a vat. The vat contains certain elements," he paused. "To cut a long story short, she's dug up after a month and if she's still alive, then she is the one true queen. Nobody survives. They have no Queen. And, as such, their entire society is flat. Waiting. They have no government, no leaders. Their structure is as limited as can be because they have no leadership. They all believe that there is no individual or set of individuals who should be allowed to lead them BUT the Queen. And she'll never turn up, because their process is a lethal concoction. They could be the greatest species in all eternity, but their flawed belief system keeps them trapped." He bit his lip and smiled at Clara sadly, who looked upset. "It's a tragic story. But probably for the best," he sighed. "The last thing the universe needs is another technologically superior species throwing their hat into the ring."

They reached the top of the hill and Clara gasped in amazement as they looked down on the city. It was an incredible combination of simplicity and technology. The roads seemed basic and none of the buildings were taller than two stories, but the place seemed to radiate power and energy. The Doctor beamed at Clara and grabbed her hand. They ran down the hill, laughing and joking as they reached the bottom and headed off towards the city. They passed some Horned as they got closer and Clara realised that they really were just normal people, only with horns. The name was apt. She asked the Doctor what they called themselves and he just shrugged and said: People.

The city was bustling with trade and conversation but although it had the technology of something out of the future, it had a very medieval structure to it, like the people were trading chickens for bread. The Doctor motioned for Clara to follow him and they slipped through the back streets of the city. Then, he was distracted by something, wandering off and waving a hand to Clara as if to say he'd be back. She giggled and swivelled on the spot, taking in the atmosphere. She almost bumped into a passing man and she blushed, apologising. But he was staring at her. This didn't look good.

"You have no horn," he said intrigued. "Why is that?"

"Um," Clara tried to think of an answer. "I'm not from around here," she replied with a smile. "I'm just visiting, with a friend."

"There is no species to be found in this world that does not have a horn," he gasped. "Did you fall from the sky?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Clara chuckled, thinking of the Doctor and his TARDIS. Then she caught herself, eyes widening and realising exactly where the man's thought process was going. "No. No, I'm not the Queen," Clara insisted, stumbling backwards as several people were now looking at her. "I'm not the Queen!"

"Of course she is!" someone shouted. "We've been blind. Who would we be to think that the true Queen would reveal herself to us and admit it? She would hide in the shadows, make us find her and earn her majesty. Take her to the pit!"

"Doctor!" Clara screamed as the men gathered around her, picking her up as she struggled. She bit and scratched and they dropped her and she stumbled to run before something hit her. Hard and on the back of the head. She fell to the floor, gasping and struggling to get back to her feet. She felt pain rush through her and the world went hazy. She reached out and then the world went black…

* * *

The Doctor had heard the ruckus and a terrifying thought went through his head. He scrambled over to where whatever was happening had happened and grabbed someone nearby who had been watching the events unfold.

"What's happening?" he asked frantically.

"They've found the true Queen!" the woman cried joyously. "A girl, with no horn who isn't from our world. She said she dropped from the sky. But she reckons she's not the Queen, clever thing. So, they're taking her to be tested now."

"No!" the Doctor yelled, pushing past the woman and racing towards the crowd. He found people blocking his way at every turn and the harder he tried to push through, the more they resisted. "No she's not your Queen, listen to me! Please! Clara!" He struggled but someone shoved him back and he fell back into the crowd, people rushing all around him. He needed a better plan, but with Clara in danger he couldn't think straight. He stumbled onwards, desperately throwing people aside to try and reach her. He took a deep breath and backed off. He needed to try another approach. The back alleys. It might not be directly faster but if he ran, he could easily outstrip this giant mob of people. He pelted his way down the next road along, throwing anyone who tried to get in his way aside. The Doctor skidded left and stumbled into the centre of the town. There it was; the pit. There was a glass cage suspended above it, on ground level. They'd put Clara in, strap her down, flood the cage with poison and then bury her underground. If that happened…he shuddered just thinking about it.

The Doctor ran over to the cage but the crowd had entered the square and were charging towards it, half a dozen people lifting an unconscious Clara. The Doctor stood between them and the cage and realised that they wouldn't stop, so plunged into his pocket and raised his sonic in the air, covering his ears as he sent out a blast of noise that got the crowd's attention. They fell silent, staring at him. One man stepped forward.

"Who are you?" he snarled. "You dare stand between us and the sacred cage?"

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor replied. "And yes the cage is sacred, but it's also murder." He pointed at Clara. "You put her in that cage and she will die. I will not allow that to happen."

"And yet," the man scoffed. "You have no way of stopping us. We are many, but you are just one. The girl will not die. She is the Queen. She fell from the stars to make us great. To rule us. She is destined to succeed. You will not try to stop us, heathen. Non-believers will be purged."

"She didn't fall from the stars," the Doctor snapped. "She materialized in a blue box. And she is not your Queen." He smiled. "She is my Queen. Or at least she will be when I get her home. This time tomorrow, we'll be married. And there is no a force in this universe that shall stop that from happening. I'm the Doctor. I'm the Oncoming Storm. I have torn entire worlds out of the sky to save the people I love and if you think for a second that I wouldn't do it again then you are sadly mistaken. That woman is the woman I love and you will let her go. If you try to put her in this cage," he paused, trying to regain some modicum of self-control and failing. "I will burn your city to cinders and ash and I will not stop until every single one of you loses the thing you love most. Because I will not let you take her."

"A great speech, evil wizard." The man was apparently unmoved. "But we have waited millennia for this day to come. And no evil force will prevent our Queen from rising to her position as our rightful leader. Dispose of him!"

The Doctor leant against the ground, pressing his ear to it, holding up a hand in surrender as he did so. Three men who had been running towards him stopped at this strange act and glanced at each other before back at the crowd. The Doctor nodded appreciatively as he was able to detect the undercurrents in the ground that indicated which fields would control which parts of the underground force field. He soniced the floor and an invisible wall appeared between him and the crowd. The men carrying Clara waiting as ten more burst past them, charging the Doctor and bouncing off the field, knocking them unconscious. The Doctor snorted arrogantly and turned his attention to the cage. He shoved it brutally and he listened to the howls of the men in the crowd as it swayed. He soniced the cables holding it and kicked the cage as hard as he could. It tumbled back, into the pit, falling and smashing against the dirt far below. Whatever poisons were in the cables were leaking and the Doctor jumped back to avoid them. He pressed his sonic against the cables and stared down the first man he'd spoken to. More men had tried to charge the force field and had been knocked back.

"One more chance," the Doctor said quietly. "I can fold back these cables, sending all the chemicals back where they came from. The overload would blow up your factory and the resulting pollution would mean that it will rain acid from the sky for a hundred years. Give me Clara. Or I will rain hell upon your city. I've already shown what I am capable of. You must have some sort of legend for me. I am the Devil."

Someone snorted with laughter at this and the Doctor looked to see Clara sitting up scrambling off the six men who yelped and backed away, seemingly afraid of her. She strolled past the men, up to the force field. The Doctor walked back so they were face to face, a few inches apart, and then they both burst into laughter, the horror-stricken and confused faces of the Horned around them making the entire situation even funnier.

"You?" she asked incredulously. "The Devil? Don't make me laugh. You would never in a million years rain hellfire down on them, your bluffs are getting worse."

"Oh I would so have rained hellfire!" the Doctor replied, failing to convince even himself. "I would have rained hellfire so hard, it would make their heads…melt probably. Are you okay?"

"Fine, idiots just knocked me out. Thought I was their Queen, can you believe that? Lower the force field thing and then we can leg it. I presume that's the plan?"

"Clara, dodge." The Doctor nodded behind her as a man charged her and she stepped to one side, the man colliding with the field and crumpling. "Yeah that's basically the plan," he soniced and the field dissipated. He grabbed her hand and there was a moment of total intimacy between them until the men behind Clara made a dash for them. "Run!"

* * *

As he closed the TARDIS doors behind him, the Doctor shared a grin with Clara. She threw herself onto the sofa and beckoned him over with a crook of her finger. He obliged, naturally and sat down beside her, kissing the top of her forehead. She slipped her hand into his and they looked at each other for what was in fact a moment but felt like forever.

"Thanks for trying to save me," Clara grinned. "And I suppose, technically, you did save me. It's what you do, you do it very well. But," she bit her lip and looked at him. "I think it's time we stopped running. You stopped saving me. I think, it's time to get married."

"Geronimo."

* * *

This was it. This was the day. Clara rolled out of bed, glancing back at the slumbering Time Lord. This was the day she'd been dreaming of. It was funny, she thought, as she showered. She'd spent her whole life dreaming of travelling and when she was a kid, she'd dreamed of marrying a man from a faraway land. And now, both of those dreams were falling into her lap. The man who would take her travelling. She had half contemplated quitting her job, but it felt good to have something to hang onto, to keep her arched in real life. And her life with the Doctor around felt as real as the nights she spent on that TARDIS. She climbed out of the shower. She was meeting Jenna in twenty minutes and it was bad luck for the bride to see the groom on the day of her wedding. She slipped into some clothes and went downstairs. Jenna was waiting for her outside as she shut the front door and hugged her best friend.

"Nervous?" Jenna asked as they drove towards the hotel just outside of London where the wedding would take place. Most of the guests were staying there, but Clara had suspected that she would have some last minute jitters and need to run away with a spaceman in a box, so had said she'd meet Jenna in the morning.

"Of course," Clara giggled. She realised she wasn't nervous about marrying the Doctor, she was nervous about what came next. The honeymoon. She knew the Doctor had been holding back now for a while, months in fact, saving some of the best destinations for that day. She just hoped she could survive his destinations. The last place he'd taken her, she'd almost been buried underground and left for dead. "What bride isn't a little nervous on the day of her wedding?"

"Aha you don't look it," Jenna smirked. "You're as cool as a cucumber. You look as if you're about to run a marathon, you're so composed and ready. Any idea where he'll be taking you for the honeymoon?" she nudged Clara gently with her shoulder and Clara blushed.

"Everywhere," she whispered. Jenna shot her an odd look but didn't comment straight away.

"You've changed Clara," she said eventually. Clara raised an eyebrow. "You're different. You're still the same confident, yet fragile girl I've always known, but you seem more…I dunno. Sometimes you'll say something, something really weird. Something that makes no sense and you'll smile because you know it makes no sense to us but it makes perfect sense to you. It's like the Doctor…" Jenna paused. "It's like he's showed you another world and you spend so long living in it, you forget what the real world is like."

"You're right," Clara smiled. She didn't know how right. "The Doctor has shown me another world. His world. And his world is the most breath-taking thing I've experienced, it's more than anyone can handle. It's more than I can handle at times. It's dangerous and manic but it's left me more alive than teaching ever could." Clara laughed hysterically. "I'm Clara Oswald the teacher but I'm also Clara Oswald, the impossible girl. And I'm sorry I let it leak through but you can't understand what it's like."

"It's okay Clara," Jenna reassured her. "As long as you're happy and as long as the Doctor keeps you safe, then that's good enough for all of us. It always has been. We love you to bits Clara and this Doctor has an impact on you, more than anyone I've ever seen. That can only be a good thing. We're here."

They pulled up outside the hotel and Clara's dad greeted her at the door, pulling her into a huge hug. She realised that her dad must've been worried sick that she wouldn't make it. After all, they missed half their appointments because of unscheduled TARDIS trips, why should her own wedding be any different?

"It's brilliant to see you Clara love," he said. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Made it back to the right day then eh?"

"It seems so," she giggled in response. "Let's go inside."

They headed in, Clara being guided and ushered through to her own little parlour. They had five hours until the ceremony and she had a team of friends, female family members and makeup artists trying to make her look her best. The dress was the most gorgeous shade of white Clara had ever seen or realised it was possible to be. It rippled and curled in all the right places and fit Clara like a dream. It was the most beautiful dress she'd ever worn. The dressmaker didn't remember making it or where it had come from, but it had been in the shop when she'd got there. She suspected Time Lord trickery but wasn't about to complain. She'd merely thanked him that night, though he feigned innocence. There were two bows on her dressing table, matching the bow ties that she'd got the Doctor for Christmas, one TARDIS blue, one Clara red. Clara red wasn't a colour, she'd protested, until the Doctor took her to a mall in the future where it was in fact listed as a colour. She could've killed him. She insisted, despite protestations, that the bows were put into her hair, which was left down and curled into ringlets. It had grown a lot in the past six months and Clara was feeling beautiful enough without the subtle highlights that had been added the previous week.

The makeup team were the next to act and Clara was very firm that she didn't want to overdo it and look like a tramp. She didn't like them at all, they were very patronising and acted as though she was a minor annoyance and that they knew best. The most annoying thing was that they were probably right. They were very subtle though, a splash here, a flick there. She looked in the mirror when they were finished and almost cried. She could never have imagined looking so good. Clara wasn't vain and didn't generally care about her appearance too much, but it was her wedding day and she figured she could at least appreciate how amazing the job everyone had done for her was before she ruined it with a trip to the mud planet of ripped dressville. She grinned and twirled for the girls, Jenna and Karen cooing like little girls whilst Billie beamed and told her how beautiful she was. Clara glanced at the clock. Not long now. Maybe half an hour.

"We'd better be off, take our places," Jenna enthused. "Your dad will be here in a minute to guide you. Good luck and we'll see you on the other side. Mrs…what actually is his name? All you've told us is that he's called the Doctor."

"That is his name," Clara told them. "The only name that matters anyway. If I told you his real name, it would probably blow a hole in the cosmos and the entire universe would fall apart."

Jenna rolled her eyes and muttered something about being overly melodramatic. Clara giggled as she was left alone. And closed her eyes, desperate for a moment's peace before her nerves shredded and she died of happiness. When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in her dressing room. She was in a white corridor, staring at two violet blue creatures with long necks and piercing stares.

"Oh for fuck's sake!" she groaned. "Not now. Come on. I was about to get married."

"You will save us. The Doctor will save us." They said in unison.

"You know its bad luck for me to see my bride on the day of the wedding!" The Doctor snapped from behind her, making her jump in shock. "It's a good thing we got married a few hundred thousand years ago, eh Clara?"

She swivelled, punching him furiously. He held up his hands in protest. He looked sharp; there was no denying that, in his black suit and new bow tie. He was angry; she could see that and guessed it was because he had absolutely no idea what they were doing there either. The TARDIS was behind them both and she was at least glad that the machine had made it. She looked at him, expecting answers.

"Don't look at me, not my choice to bring us here."

"You will save us Doctor, or you will die with us."

"Well then, looks like we're saving people Clara. Geronimo."


	25. Chapter 25: The Wedding of the Doctor 2

*** So, just the final part epilogue left after this chapter. I am much obliged to all my fine readers, reviewers, followers and favouriters who have stuck with me until the end and I really hope you enjoy (if you can) this penultimate chapter. It's been a pleasure to write and I am so sorry about the ending. I must admit, I cried writing it. See you in 2014. TPD***

* * *

"Save you from what?" Clara asked accusingly. One of the creatures stepped forward.

"We are the Engati," she informed Clara. "This is a science development ship, class Beta Alpha Seven. We perform experiments up here and develop technologies that will prove useful for the Engati people. And our entire ship is falling apart. We have been invaded. The Engati secrets on this ship are so powerful that nobody can be allowed to get hold of them. We found your TARDIS' temporal co-ordinates and locked onto them, teleporting you on board. You are the only one who can save us Doctor."

"Oh that's just peachy," he muttered angrily. "The Engati are from the constellation of Kasterborous, the same as Gallifrey," he informed Clara. "Their species has been milking off the Time Lords for as long as anyone can remember. Then, Gallifrey fell and they had to adapt to surviving without the Time Lords help. They believe," his voice was low now so only Clara could hear. "That they can be the next Time Lords. I believe that they're nothing more than a parasite and they have no hope of catching up with our race. In approximately," he checked his watch. "1000 years, they'll declare a war that leads their race to the point of extinction."

"So why are we helping them?" Clara hissed. "Can't we just jump in the TARDIS and go?"

"Let me guess," the Doctor said, his face distorted in a grimace. "You're keeping the TARDIS trapped here with an electromagnetic field, am I correct?" The Engati nodded. "So either I stop your ship from blowing up or falling into enemy hands, or we're trapped here when it explodes and we die with it?" They nodded. "How fantastic. Well Clara, looks like we've got a job to do. So, what experiments are you working on? And what're your names?"

"I am Tao and this is Remeda," the one on the left indicated. "We are the designated mission co-ordinators. There were hundreds of us on this ship but most were shot or captured. Only ten of us remain. The other ship is locked onto us and they have guards all over the ship, two sets in most of our core areas. The core experiments housed are teleportation; large scale cloning and genetic altering; artificial intelligence; temporal displacement; gravity control tunnels, electromagnetic force fields and the weaponry division." Clara watched the Doctor's face and sure enough, he flinched when Tao mentioned the weaponry division.

"Okay, what are we dealing with?" The Doctor sounded agitated and Clara both found it amusing and worrying to see him ruffled. That said, she was the one in a wedding dress. She bit her lip. If it got ruined that would be difficult to explain.

"They're a pirate ship. They're after our technology and they've secured the main control deck. They're currently trying to hack into our systems and deactivate the self-destruct, which goes off in two hours. But they can't, because it's DNA encoded. Only an Engati can deactivate it, specifically the captain, Remeda or myself. The captain is dead, he was killed during the takeover. The rest of our kind is holed up in Cloning, which is sealed off by the lockdown, no one can get in. If they are found, then the ship's lockdown protocols can be deactivated and they can hijack us. The pirates are humanoid, but they have robotic elements and weaponry."

"Cyborgs," the Doctor growled. "Okay, I'm going to access your ships records," he pressed his sonic against a side panel on the wall and it whirred into life, the Doctor nodding appreciatively. "Okay, two hours, no defences, no weapons, cyborgs around every corner and hundreds of captives. This could get messy. Clara," he turned to her. "I'm sending a map of the ship to your sonic. Stay here with Tao and try to gain access to the main flight deck. The sonic is hooked into the mainframe, so any red blips on the map will be Cyborgs. Try and avoid them as much as possible. I'm going to try and find a way to fight them and to do that; I'll go onto their ship and try to free your captives. Regroup here in two hours. And Clara," he kissed her and looked at her in longing. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, in 1200 years of time and space. And I am going to marry you so hard when this is over. So don't die." He turned to Tao. "She dies, I leave you to burn, understood?" Tao nodded. "Remeda, with me. Clara, in a bit."

As he marched off, Clara turned to Tao, allowing herself an uneasy smile at the other creature. Two hours to save the ship. Of course this would happen on her wedding day. Clara accessed the map producing an image with the sonic and projecting it onto a communicator tablet that Tao had. They were at one end of the ship and the various divisions were on various sides. They could go straight through the heart of the ship to the command deck, but there were at least fifty guards blocking the direct entrance. They were a lot more diverse and fewer in number in the various sections, so Clara suggested they start by cutting through artificial intelligence. They slipped headed down the corridor until they came to the turn off for artificial intelligence. Sure enough, there were two guards on the door and they dived behind a crate so that the Cyborgs couldn't see them. Clara bit her lip. She snatched the communicator and spoke into it quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Doctor, any idea how to get past the Cyborgs?"

"Yes, as it happens," he sounded gleeful. "Their technology is compatible with these tablets, so if you send out a strong sonic pulse through the tablet, it should knock them out for about thirty seconds. But it'll only work against two at a time or the signal will be stretched too thin."

"Can we lock the doors from the inside once we're in the AI section?" Clara asked Tao quietly. Tao nodded and Clara grinned. "Now we're talking. See you soon Doctor, good luck." She turned to her companion. "Tao, get ready to run."

She took a deep breath. Then she stepped out and soniced the tablet. The Cyborgs frowned and trained their weapons on her, then a split-second later they froze, as if stuck in a spell. Clara ran past them, Tao two steps behind, Clara counting in her head. She slammed the doors behind them, sonicing them shut and nodding to Tao, who punched a key code into the wall. Clara sighed with relief. She looked at the map. They had to move fast, they had three guards closing on their position. Clara grabbed Tao and they ran, heading for a chamber that looked unoccupied and slipping inside.

"This is where we test our intelligence nodules," Tao explained hurriedly. "This is a coolant chamber, it fills with liquid nitrogen to cool the tanks. If they activate it…"

"Yes," Clara snapped. "I am well aware what liquid nitrogen does to humans. I'd really rather not live through it. The guards are just passing now, a few more seconds and we'll be able to leave this stupid chamber." She kept her eyes on the tablet. "Okay, we're clear."

Clara stepped out of the chamber and glanced at the map. It was a big ship and they didn't have a whole lot of time. They were going to have to be quick. She hoped the Doctor was doing his bit, because the sooner they got out of there, the sooner they could get married.

* * *

The Doctor held Remeda back as they hid in the alcove, letting the Cyborg guards pass them by. He breathed a sigh of relief and stepped out. The direct entrance between the two ships, the point at which they'd boarded was completely sealed, but there were several smaller corridors between the ships and not all of them were heavily armed. The one he was aiming for had just four Cyborgs covering it. He bit his lip as he figured out how to get past them. Then, Remeda did something both incredibly brave and incredibly stupid. He yelled no, but she stepped out of the alcove, running down the corridor. Two of the Cyborgs exchanged a look and ran after her, leaving the other two to guard the door. The Cyborgs had powerful weapons mounted on one arm and their eyes and voices were hooked into the technology. Everything was fed into their brains and as the Doctor sent the signal to overwhelm them, he almost felt bad for them. Their greatness strength was also their greatest weakness. He ran past the soldiers guarding the door, hoping that Remeda was about to join him. He heard a shot and a scream. He bowed his head and sealed the door. He was on his own now.

The Doctor kept to the shadows, aware that the entire ship was crawling with Cyborgs and that he had no idea where he was going or what he was doing. That was okay, he specialised in no idea and spent a lot of time in places crawling with…well anything really. The Cyborg guards seemed to be on rotating shifts and within twenty minutes he had his bearings. He found he was moving a lot more quickly now, slipping past the guards with ease and stunning when he needed to. He was glad that they awoke from the moments of unconsciousness with no memory of it or they'd have clocked him by now. He grinned to himself. This wasn't exactly what he had planned for his wedding day, but he was enjoying himself, as long as Clara was safe. He was hiding out for another thirty seconds until the next round passed so he messaged her, curious to check up on her.

"You okay there Clara?" he whispered. "I'm nearly at the bridge and once I'm there, I should be able to think of a way to mess with the Cyborgs. How're you getting on?"

"I should be on your map doofus!" she giggled. "We're okay here, just heading into their teleportation unit, so we're about halfway to the command deck. This whole place is crawling with guards but at least I blend in with all this white!" she sounded more nervous than she was willing to admit and it broke the Doctor's hearts. "I'll see you soon, love you."

"Love you too," he replied and then slipped out of the alcove, moving onwards. He had reached the entrance to the bridge, where all the Cyborgs were being led from. And where the ship was being piloted from. He had passed the detention block but knew there was nothing he could do from there. There were two guards on the door and they raised their weapons upon seeing them but he promptly stunned them with the tablet and entered the bridge. Now what? The Cyborgs wheeled round as he entered, pointing their guns in his direction. He slipped the sonic and tablet into his pocket and raised his hands.

"Don't shoot!" he yelled. "I'm unarmed. I'm here to negotiate on behalf of the Engati. You need them to not blow up their ship and they need you to not kill all their hostages. I'm the Doctor, I'm the last of the Time Lords and I'm here to make sure this ends as peacefully as possible. Nobody dies. Understood?"

Some of the Cyborgs lowered their weapons, others kept them firmly trained on the Doctor, muttering and shooting each other looks. Several of them stepped apart as a chair swivelled and a man sat there, watching the Doctor curiously. He must've been the captain because he nodded and more weapons were lowered.

"I take it you're in charge?" the Doctor asked and the man smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile and the Doctor instantly disliked the man.

"Captain James Tucker," he said. "This is my ship and these are my Cyborgs. I built them myself and they obey my every command. So, if you think that they have any compassion or won't shoot you down on the spot if I ask them to, think again. You are here to negotiate, but I have no need of negotiation."

"No?" The Doctor asked smugly. "Then why am I still alive? As best as I can tell, there's only one person left on that ship who can stop it blowing up and you need the ship because you don't have the time, man power or ability to salvage the technology from it. You can comb every inch of that ship, no doubt you already have been, but you have a little over an hour until it becomes useless to you and I can give you the ship. All you have to do is release all your prisoners over to us and I will personally hand you the ship. People's lives are more important than technology."

"Tell me Doctor," Tucker was folding his arms and looking at the Doctor with intrigue. "The Time Lords are all but extinct, a legend. The Engati are their legacy, all that remains of Time Lord society is in them. But here you are, the last living Time Lord. You are so far superior to the Engati. You have a brain far beyond anything they could hope to imagine. Given a year, you could recreate all their technology and perfect it. So why shouldn't I just take you and leave the ship to explode?"

"Because," the Doctor said very quietly. "There is something on that ship that is so precious to me that destroying it guarantees that I will die a million times over before I help you. So either way, you still need that ship in one piece. And the key to turning off the self-destruct just happens to be in the same place as the thing that I love most. So either way, you need my help. Now then, do we have a deal or am I going to have to tell the Engati to burn baby burn?"

"You have a deal," Tucker snapped. "Cyborgs go to the detention centre and release the prisoners. Take them across to the other ship. I will hold the Doctor here until he tells us what we want to know. The Doctor nodded appreciatively and the Cyborgs left, leaving only two with their guns trained on the Doctor. He smiled at Tucker and started shaking his head.

"So how do you control them?" he asked Tucker, raising his hands in confusion and then pocketing them as he paced, careful not to get too close to Tucker. "I'm astounded to know how you have such obedience."

"They are programmed to follow my every voice command," Tucker snarled. "So if I tell them to return to the ship, they will all return to the ship. If I tell them to kill you, they will kill you. And if I tell them to release the prisoners, they will release the prisoners. For example, he pressed a button on the console to indicate the intercom. "Execute all the prisoners," he ordered. The Doctor yelled in anger and pain as the sounds of gunshots came flooding through the intercom. "Now Doctor," he snarled. "I will send every Cyborg into that ship and they will shoot every living thing that they can find until there is nobody and nothing left. Then, the entire ship will explode. Unless, you tell me exactly where I can find the person who can deactivate the self-destruct. You lose your precious something and then I'll take you home extract your brain, or you hand me the ship. You tried to negotiate, well those are the new terms."

"Okay," the Doctor muttered, utterly beaten and furious. "I'll show you. I have their locations on a map of the ship, I'll just get it up." He pulled the tablet out of his pocket and tapped a few buttons. He then pulled out the sonic and the Cyborgs aimed to fire. "This is what I used to store the map!" he snapped. "Scan it, it's harmless." After a few seconds, Tucker nodded for him to proceed. "Thank you." The Doctor soniced the tablet and instead of the map popping up, the pulse shot out, knocking out the only two Cyborgs left in the room. Tucker howled and the Doctor lunged, shoving the chair that Tucker was sat on. Tucker tried to stand but the chair rolled back and he couldn't regain his balance as it toppled and he hit his head, incapacitating him. The Doctor had twenty five seconds. He grabbed the phone in his pocket and played the recording he'd taken over the intercom.

"All return to the ship."

The Doctor grinned. He legged it, jumping over the two Cyborgs and finding a vent shaft to climb into. He didn't have much time. It was only fifty minutes until the self-destruct went off. He pulled out his map as he crawled. Sure enough, the red dots were rapidly evacuating. The Cyborgs would be awake on the bridge, but if he could get to the ship and separate the two before it was too late, then it wouldn't matter. Without their leader, they were probably clueless. And he would be out for at least an hour, that blow to the head would incapacitate him sufficiently. The Doctor checked on Clara as well. She was getting nearer to the command deck by the minute. This was all going well.

* * *

This was not going well, Clara thought as she dived into one of the testing facilities. Her wedding dress wasn't restricting her movement, thankfully, which she suspected had something to do with the alien material it was made from. But they were running out of time and they were nearly at the command deck. So now, the whole place was crawling with Cyborgs running frantically past them. The room they were in was in the force field testing facility and the whole thing crackled with energy that made Clara's hair stand on end. Her makeup was smudged with sweat from all the running and she felt sticky and hot. There was a crackle of lighting and Clara shot Tao a questioning look.

"Um, when the self-destruct and lockdown protocols are active, almost everything has to be switched off," Tao explained. "All the testing facilities, only core and essential power systems are allowed to run. If somebody had tried to reactivate the force field testing area, then all it would do would be overload the system. This entire room would…well it would explode." Clara groaned. Trust her luck. She heard the engine systems groaning. It looked as if the force field testing area had in fact been reactivated. Alarms started blaring left, right and centre. Clara could feel the room getting hotter and electrified. She ran for the door, Tao only two steps behind her. They reached it and the sonic failed to work against it.

"It's deadlocked," Tao explained. "Let me try the release codes, I know them all."

"Hurry," Clara urged. The room was filling with energy, ready to burst. Tao frantically typed as the alarms got louder, drowning out everything else. Clara kept sonicing, determined not to die.

"Try now," Tao screamed and Clara thought harder than she'd ever thought as she pressed the sonic to the door. It opened, just as the room exploded. Clara and Tao dived through, fire and brimstone all around them as they hit the floor and rolled, putting out the flames that had just clung on to them. Clara stumbled to her feet, checking herself for damage. She was flustered, singed but it seemed like the only part of her that had taken any damage was…she cursed. The wedding dress, which was blackened and ripped and clinging to her by a thread and in strips. The most beautiful wedding dress in the universe…

"Told you that would flush them out!" came a metallic voice and Clara cursed as two Cyborgs stared them down, weapons raised. "Now let's shoot them and get out of here, we only have half an hour until this place detonates and we've been ordered to return to the ship.

"Don't shoot!" Clara yelled, pointing at Tao. "She's the only one who can operate the system and she'll co-operate as long as you don't shoot either of us."

The Cyborgs exchanged a look and then Clara soniced the tablet, sending out the pulse to knock them down. She grabbed Tao's hand and they ran, rounding corners and stumbling for what seemed like an age. Time seemed to stand still for Clara as she heard the automated system tell her that they had fifteen minutes until self-destruct. The command deck. They had long since heard the order to return to the ship so the Cyborgs had gone, leaving the deck abandoned. They only had ten minutes left now, things were pretty desperate. She thumbed some switches and turned to Tao.

"Can you deactivate it?" she asked desperately.

"No, she can't."

Clara turned and smiled harder than she'd imagined possible. The Doctor strolled onto the command deck, his eyebrows furrowed and his voice bitter. He'd lost his bow tie somewhere along the line and his jacket was crumpled and singed. She'd never seen him so annoyed and as she looked at Tao, she realised why. The Engati was crying and begging. The Doctor's voice was dry and emotionless and that scared Clara more than she realised. He was resigned. Resigned to what, she wasn't sure.

"She can't deactivate the self-destruct," the Doctor informed Clara bitterly. "The program is too far gone. The engines have completely phased. The only way to stop them exploding now is to drain them completely. Leave the Engati stranded here. That's not a problem, we can send out a distress signal on the TARDIS, their homeland will send someone out to get them, I imagine they probably already have to be honest, what with everything that's been going on. And the other ship isn't coming back soon, I've disengaged them and they'll take time to regroup, their leader is out for the count. But, that energy has to go somewhere. We can't just dump it. We'd have to channel it through the exhaust. Problem solved, high energy drain, done quickly. Only got six minutes. Damn, I was hoping for more time."

"Can you do it?" she asked, looking at him desperately.

"It'll take less than thirty seconds," he said, tears now falling. "I meant more time with you."

"What do you mean?" Clara asked, voice breaking.

"The exhaust goes through the ship and out the back. I can stop the energy from ripping the ship apart but I'll have to channel it. Through here. I'll have to control it and channel it into this room. And I'll have to stay here the entire time. I'll be burned alive, mutilated to a crisp. No regeneration. I don't know that even if I had any left they'd work. Possibly. It doesn't matter now Clara. You have to go." He pulled out the sonic and fiddled with it. "I've remotely activated the TARDIS emergency protocols. She'll take you home Clara. You'll be safe. I love you Clara and I'm going to die to save you. So get out of here, go home. Once the system is drained, the electromagnetic field will go down; you'll be able to fly the TARDIS out of here. Home. In time for…"

"The wedding!" she sobbed. "The wedding. You think that's what I want? To go home and tell everyone my fiancé is dead, that he burned alive for the sake of what?"

"For you!" he yelled. "This ship is about to blow, I can't get the electromagnetism down in time. So the only way to save you, to save what's left of the Engati is to sacrifice myself. You get to live Clara. You may think that I'm all there is to the universe but I'm not. Trust me. Coming from someone who has lived his whole life thinking that losing someone is the end. It isn't. If you don't let it. I love you Clara and I'm not about to let you die here."

"Doctor, if killing you is what it takes for me to live then you can forget it. I'm staying here, and if you're going to burn, then I'm going to burn with you," Clara crossed her arms and raised a challenging eyebrow.

"Oh Clara," he sighed. "My Clara. I thought you might say that. One more useful piece of information. The last piece of useful information I will ever give you. By this stage in their development, the Engati have been genetically altered so that their strength is far superior to humans. Tao, take her out of here. Now." Tao didn't move and Clara's eyes widened as she staggered back. "Now!" the Doctor roared, scaring Clara with his ferocity. "Or you can burn with us if you'd like?"

Clara screamed and tried to run but Tao scooped her up like she was a baby. She punched and kicked but Tao carried her out of the room, and deposited her on the other side of the blast doors. They were glass and she could see through them but she wasn't sure she could stand to watch him burn. The Doctor was facing away from her now, flipping switches and controls as Clara soniced the door over and over, screaming both in her head and out loud that the door had to open.

"It's deadlocked." The Doctor had turned back now. "It's all set. In about thirty seconds, I'll be dust and you can go home. Clara. My Clara. I love you. More than anything. So run. Run, you clever girl. And remember me."

"Fuck you!" Clara screamed. "Fuck everything. Now you stop fucking with me and you open this fucking door! Now!"

"Goodbye Clara."

"DOCTOR!"

And then, the energy hit the room and Clara's world ended. The Doctor waved at her once and then roared in agony as he evaporated, turning to dust before her.


	26. Chapter 26: The Wedding of the Doctor 3

***So here we are again, on the final page. I thought I'd put you all out of your misery and unleash my final barrage of hellfire. Without further ado, here is the final chapter of Transitions or as I affectionately know it: "The Whouffle I started writing and called Dimension Jumpers without any idea how long it would be". I really hope you've enjoyed the story as a whole, so please let me know your thoughts on the ending and the story. Thank you for everyone who has read, followed and favourited along the way and of course you wonderful reviewers. So many of you brighten my day with your comments and don't worry because this is not the end. Transitions may be over, but there are plenty more fics coming your way, including Damaged, my main AU. Watch this space and happy 2014. TPD***

* * *

Clara felt empty. Completely and utterly empty. The Doctor was dead. She slumped against the wall and allowed a howl to escape her lips. She was supposed to be marrying him. Now, out there so long ago. Tao was shooting her a look that was nothing short of pitiful. Clara sniffed. She wasn't going to cry in front of the alien. Oh who was she kidding? This was it. The end of everything. Her world had just collapsed around her. So she wept and wept and wept. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, she had a thought. A single, complex thought that gave her something she'd never thought she'd have again in the world. Hope. She sat up and stared at Tao, biting her lip, deep in thought. She pulled out the tablet and Tao shot her a look of confusion.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking something." Clara's face lit up and she turned to Tao. "Geronimo."

Clara dropped the tablet and ran, her feet thumping as she ran for her life. Or more specifically his. Tao easily kept pace with her, confused as Clara pounded onwards, her only thought of one thing: TARDIS. She skidded to a halt in front of the machine.

"She's going to work now, yes?" Clara turned to Tao. "YES?" Tao nodded. "Good. See you round, Tao, have a good life."

"Where are you going?" Tao whispered. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to save the Doctor," Clara replied casually. "And I'm going to do it by doing the one thing he taught me how to do."

Clara entered the TARDIS, which immediately started to wheeze as a hologram of the Doctor appeared and starting talking about emergency protocol one.

"Not now Chin!" Clara yelled, pulling out her sonic. "Don't you dare!" she warned the TARDIS as it prepared to take off. "Deactivate emergency protocols!" The sonic whirred and the TARDIS groaned. "He's not exactly here to stop us is he?" Clara told her. "Now listen, I have a plan, so if you could just cooperate, just this once. And if you could please, just land exactly as you're supposed to, then that would be fab. Because the Doctor taught me how to fly you. Sort of. Now don't get me wrong, I was terrible, absolutely awful. I couldn't fly you to save my life. I still can't. But there's one thing the Doctor taught me how to do. Two hour time jumps. So what if it was forwards last time, I just have to flip this lever in reverse! And don't say it. Don't give me any crap about timelines because I'm doing this. I will save him. Because he means everything to me and he's the Doctor."

Clara flipped the levers and hammered switches and twisted the regulators. If she made a single mistake, the Doctor was dead, so she couldn't afford to slip up. The TARDIS whined and groaned and wheezed into life and then it dematerialized. Clara clung on for dear life as the universe groaned under the strain of the paradox.

"COME ON!" she screamed. "All these times he's done it, I might only be human, but I'm doing this to save him. Don't you think the universe owes him it? After everything?"

The TARDIS console erupted, mini-explosions rattling around Clara. But she didn't give up, her single-minded determination guiding her through. And apparently the universe agreed with her. The TARDIS crashed and Clara was thrown off her feet, as the console sparked and the TARDIS came to a wheezing, groaning stop. Clara ran over the door and threw it open. They were still on the Engati ship, so that was a start, slightly further away from where they'd left. Made sense the TARDIS must've jerked her to one side, after all, they couldn't land in the same place as they took off from, as she was still there.

"Two hours until self-destruct!" came a call over the intercom system. Clara laughed and punched the air. She'd done it. She'd actually done it. Now to save the Doctor. She pulled out the tablet, which groaned as she activated it. Clearly, the fact that there were two Clara's running around with the same tablet was agitating the system. Never mind, she thought. She checked the map. She was just outside genetics. Exactly where she wanted to be. She ran back into the TARDIS, pounding through the corridors as she grabbed exactly what she needed, throwing it into her satchel. She stepped out, aware of the fact she was still wearing her ruined wedding dress. She could change when the Doctor was alive.

She slipped past the guards, pulsing them out wherever she needed to. She entered the genetics section and slipped past another set of guards, hammering on the door to the cloning lab where the other members of the Engati were held up. She knew they could see her and hissed so that only they could hear her: "I'm Clara. I'm the Doctor's companion and I'm here to help you fight off the Cyborgs. You have to let me in now or we're finished."

Sure enough, they opened the door and Clara barrelled in. There were half a dozen or so of them, all looking at her curiously as she shut the door behind her. She pointed at one of the machines.

"That's a cloning machine? Yes?" she snapped and several of them nodded. "According to your system, they run on minimum power, so won't be disrupted by the self-destruct the way, say your force field area would be used yes?" More nods. "And you can produce an exact clone in 90 minutes flat?" The nods continued. "Great, then cook me up a clone!" Clara grinned, throwing a pack of blood to the floor. "Please."

* * *

The next hour and a half were the longest of Clara's life. She sat, waiting in that room, whilst the Engati interrogated her on her plan. She said almost nothing, muttering yes or no when she felt she had to and when they were desperate, she shouted that the Doctor would resolve everything and that the clone was crucial to his plan but she didn't know how. She was irritable, but that was mainly nerves. Her heart was pounding faster than she'd thought possible. This had to work, it absolutely had to. She could have ripped time apart for this, she knew that. She had been heartbreakingly selfish, but it would be worth it. As long as he didn't burn. Then, just when Clara had reached breaking point, the machine dinged. Out fell a completely naked Time Lord. Clara punched the air in satisfaction, jumping up and down with joy. She ran over and hugged the Doctor clone, beaming from ear to ear.

"Doesn't he need clothes?" asked one of the Engati. Clara shook her head. She knew exactly where he'd get clothes from. She had twenty minutes until the self-destruct, which meant she had ten minutes to find and swap the Doctor with his clone. The clone stumbled to his feet with Clara's help and shook himself up and down.

"Ah," it said in the Doctor's voice. "Hello. You're Clara. Memory's very off. Sorry, I'm a clone and I'm supposed to follow the every command of my original, but everything's a bit hazy. Things aren't really making much sense."

"Listen, Doctor," Clara urged. "We have to move now. Follow my lead. Whatever happens, follow my lead."

"You're the boss."

Clara half-dragged the Doctor clone with her, pulling out the tablet and checking the map for the Time Lord. She'd shielded herself from the Doctor scanning her and noticing there was two of her. She wasn't sure how, but the sonic had done when he'd designed it to do, help her and follow her telepathic commands. She carried on stumbling until the naked Doctor clone was able to stand. Clara didn't need to tell him what to say to the other her running around; she figured she'd leave him to work it out himself. They rounded the corner and the real Doctor's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Clara let out a sob of happiness at seeing him alive and launched herself at him, snogging him into oblivion before catching herself.

"Clara?!" he exclaimed. "But…you're supposed to be…and blimey, look at that chin. Oh that's me, what am I doing here? And why am I naked?"

"No time to explain," Clara interrupted, checking her watch. "We have six minutes until this Doctor reaches the command deck. So you, real Doctor. Clothes. Off. Now. All of them."

"What?"

"Listen, Doctor," Clara urged. "We don't have time to argue or discuss, so you just need to trust me. I'm doing this to save your life. You have to listen to me. Follow my every command or the whole universe will probably be ripped apart by paradoxes." He went to speak and she put her finger over his mouth. "Shut up. So take off all your clothes, give them to him and give him your sonic. No questions, just do it. Except the bow tie, I'll take that," Clara giggled. "I'm not going to let the bow tie burn now am I?"

"Burn?!" both Doctors said at once.

"You. Clothes off. Now." She pointed. "You. Clothes on. Now. Four minutes. Then run. You have to get to that command desk and stop this ship from blowing up!"

"How?" he exclaimed, finishing dressing by pulling on the jacket.

"You're the Doctor, you'll work it out," Clara said bitterly. "I'm sorry, I really am. And you can't give me any hint of what's to come. When you die, I need to think that it's my Doctor burning, have you got that?" There was a moment of recognition as both Doctors minds put the cogs into place. "I love you and I wish there was another way," she said tearfully as she kissed the clone and sent him on his way. "Run!" she yelled. "You! With me, TARDIS now."

She dragged the naked Doctor behind her as they ran through the ship, reaching the TARDIS. Clara slipped her key into the lock and threw it open, the Doctor following her in and just as they were about to shut the door, a Cyborg fired.

"A remnant!" the Doctor yelled. "A survivor. I didn't realise any were left on the ship, I thought I'd sealed them away. Clara get down!"

She yelped and hit the floor as the Cyborg staggered into the TARDIS, firing again and hitting the console, sending her spinning. Clara ran forward and kicked the Cyborg as they dematerialised, sending it spinning into the time vortex. She fell away from the door, which hung open as they whizzed. The Doctor was fumbling around below her and emerged wearing only some trousers and his purple jacket.

"Here," Clara hurled him the bow tie. "This completes the look. Though you still look a state, what happened?"

"Oh you know," he grinned and shouted over the TARDIS, which had kicked into overdrive. "Explosions, the usual. And you? Your dress is in tatters, your hair's…lovely," he added quickly. "And you've totally not completely and utterly smeared your makeup. So you saw me burn yes, due to funnelling the energy from the engines and then you decided to cheat by jumping back in time, because I apparently taught you brilliantly how to fly her and then cloned me so he could burn instead of me? Clara, that was incredible stupid and dangerous and I absolutely love you. Guess what?"

"What?"

"We're about to get married!"

"Shouldn't we clean up first?" Clara suggested with a laugh. "I mean, we look absolutely horrific and all the guests will realise something is up. We can get me a new dress and you a new suit and…"

"Nope, I'm afraid we can't," the Doctor was laughing wildly now. "That shot may have done some damage, she's spinning out of control and she's spinning through the emergency protocol I told her to utilise."

"What?" Clara's eyes widened and she looked out the doors. They'd stabilised and she could see a blue sky. "Doctor…"

"Geronimo!" he yelled as the TARDIS wheeled and skirted and Clara screamed. And they crash landed.

* * *

Jack was nervous. He hadn't really considered the possibility that the Doctor wouldn't make it down the aisle but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Jack tried to relax but the TARDIS also appeared to be missing. He bit his lip and looked around. They were due to start any minute but without a groom that was going to be difficult. Clara's father ran down the aisle and Jack raised an eyebrow. He reached the front, where the Vicar was looking very confused. Dave took Jack to one side.

"Have you seen Clara?" he whispered tetchily. "She's not in her dressing room."

"Neither is the Doctor," Jack groaned. "And the TARDIS is nowhere to be seen. This is bad, very bad. They could anywhere. Or anywhen. Wait, can you hear that?"

Jack stretched his ears and watched as Dave strained to hear. Murmurs rang out through the crowds, confusion reigning as the TARDIS noise filled the air. Jack glanced around and then a window smashed and through it, skidding and wheezing, was the TARDIS, which came whizzing down the aisle, bedraggled. Guests screamed and dived for cover, the front doors of the box open and a small girl in what remained of a white wedding dress came tumbling out halfway down the aisle. She hit the middle of the aisle hard and gasped, looking around her in shock. Everyone stared in silence as Clara Oswald tried to smile and glanced back at the box in anger. The TARDIS dematerialized.

"Oi arsehole," Clara yelled. "Get back here now, we're getting married."

The TARDIS rematerialized and the Doctor fell out, bow tie askew, jacket rumpled, fly undone. Jack rolled his eyes as the guests had fallen into a stunned silence as the TARDIS crashed to the floor and skidded to a halt at the other end of the aisle. The Doctor was laughing his head off and as he landed on top of Clara and she rolled him off, they were both laughing deliriously, all thoughts gone from their heads as they giggled manically.

"Sorry dear, the TARDIS seemed to object to our nuptials," he chuckled and Clara punched him. They stumbled to their feet and walked down the aisle as if nothing had happened. "Well, one of us needs to say something," the Doctor said, greeting Jack and a gobsmacked Dave with a nod and a wave. "But at least we made it on time."

"We crashed here on time. In clothes that got wrecked up on that bloody spaceship. And you've completely lost that tux, it got turned to ash."

"Clara?" Jenna gasped, finding her voice at last. The room was so silent you could hear a pin drop. "What the hell is that thing?!" she pointed at the TARDIS. "What happened to your dress and hair and makeup? And why is your fiancé half naked?"

"Um…" Clara looked at the Doctor and the Doctor looked at Clara. "He's an alien," Clara confessed. "An alien from space, with two hearts, twenty six less brains than he likes to think, the ability to change his face, a time travelling blue box, a screwdriver that can do anything and he's my fiancé. My 1200 year old, insane, bumbling, alien Doctor."

"Yes and she's Clara." The Doctor had wanted to sound impressive but failed. "My impossible girl, my Clara. And she's well she's perfect. I mean to you lot she's just Clara, but to me, she's Clara."

"An alien?" Jenna asked disbelievingly. "And that box? You claim it's a time machine?"

"And a spaceship," the Doctor interjected, throwing an arm around Clara and addressing her friends and family. "If everyone would like to step inside that box, I'll show them. And before you all protest about how you'll never fit, I'd just like to point out one thing…"

"It's bigger on the inside," Clara finished.

* * *

Clara Oswald breathed a heavy sigh of relief as she staggered onto the TARDIS for one last trip. The Doctor was already on board of course, waiting for her. He was already flipping levers and then they took off. It had been so long for Clara, so long since he'd first asked her to fly away in his snogging booth. Her life had been amazing ever since that moment.

"Gran, let me help!" shouted Jenna Oswald, her granddaughter, guiding her aging grandmother up the steps. "Grandfather, where are we going?"

"Well Jenna," the Doctor chuckled, his own body now weary and older. He'd had that body for nearly 500 years and it was almost giving up on him. "I'm going to take your grandmother back to where it all began. I'm going to take her home. To Gallifrey. Seeing as you'll be starting school there in the new term. It may have taken me the whole of our lives, but I promised Clara I'd show her it. It was the only place left on my list."

Clara gasped as the TARDIS landed and Jenna and the Doctor helped her outside. The grass was red and the sky was burnt orange and it was the most beautiful thing Clara had ever seen. Well, almost. She turned to her Doctor. "Thank you," she whispered. "What will you do now?"

"The Time Lords have given me a whole new set of regenerations, my love," he told her quietly. "I can't say that I want them. I was happy, more than happy to die at your side. But I have to keep going. The universe needs the Doctor. So, I was thinking that I'd the same thing I did, over a thousand years ago. I'd take my granddaughter and I'd take her by the hand and I'd pluck her out of school, out of Gallifreyan school. And I'd tell her…"

"Run?" Clara smiled.

"Run." The Doctor smiled. Then he took Clara's hand and as the life drifted from her, she felt the life drift from him.

"Run you clever boy," Clara Oswald whispered. "And remember me."

The Doctor smiled and kissed her hand as she died. And then he died; a shot of orange energy flowing through his body and he staggered, assessing his new body. Older, that much had to be said. Wrong colour kidneys too. Ah well, it would do. Then he straightened up, took his granddaughter by the hand and escorted her into the TARDIS.


	27. Transitions Update

***Hello Transitions followers! Those of you that are still following that is. If you read this message, I'm letting you all know that I will be writing some one-shots based off Transitions. To do this however, I need your help. I need some prompts, whether they be one word suggestions or full blown descriptions. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated so please PM me or review this chapter with your suggestions. Much appreciated The Potter Doctor :)***

**Update: here's the link to all Transitions prompts: s/10008388/3/Transitions-Whouffle-Prompts**


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